Quest for a God
by yepiwrite
Summary: Camp Half-Blood is still recovering from Gaea, building new cabins and taking in more demigods. Everything's going well until they receive contact from a god in trouble. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: I wasn't sure if, towards the end of Blood of Olympus, Will saying Nico owed him three days of rest meant Nico had to rest or Nico had to help Will in the infirmary, but I went ahead and made it Nico needing some sleep otherwise he would sink into a pile of black _gunk_.

I do not own any Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus characters

* * *

><p>Percy glanced around the infirmary. Daylight spilled through the windows, seeming to gravitate towards the Apollo kids rushing back and forth.<p>

It's been six days since Gaea was put to sleep, meaning Nico had rested in the infirmary for his three days, abiding by the doctors orders. The kid was still out cold, and Percy figured that's how he's been since they last spoke.

Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand. She met his gaze and smiled, her stormy-gray eyes glinting.

Only a few demigods were still in the infirmary like Mark, Ares' son, and Jake Mason, Hephaestus' son, yet the Apollo kids worked feverishly, all of them taking orders from Will Solace.

Will glanced up from bandaging Jake's arm and flashed a broad smile.

"Percy! Annabeth! How can I help you?" he asked, tugging the gloves off his hands and tossing them in the trash bin. As he came closer, Percy spotted bags under his eyes and the smile seemed somewhat forced. The poor guy probably hadn't had much sleep since Gaea was put back where she came from.

Percy's voice caught in his throat. "Well, um... uh-"

"We were wondering when Nico would be waking up," Annabeth finished for him. Percy glanced at Hades' son. He snoozed on one of the beds, his face peaceful and the sunlight casting shadows over him. He looked like just a normal kid, not some child of death and wealth and blah-blah-blah. He didn't look like someone who would sink into a glob of black _stuff_ (shadows?) either. Just Nico. Will frowned.

"The medicine I gave him should be wearing off by now, and I really don't want to wake him..."

Percy agreed. Waking the child of death was basically asking to get your head stuck under a tombstone. Maybe. Nico changed since Percy had last spoken with him. He seemed more at ease with himself, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

And he also admitted that he used to have a crush on Percy. That probably took some guts, and Percy was really beginning to admire him. He was taking some serious control of his life.

"However," Will continued, "it has been three days and Nico should probably start moving around. I'll wake him."

He ambled up to Nico and shook him. Percy held his breath. Then he realized he was holding his breath, and was tempted to smack himself upside the head. What's the worst that could happen? He's just the son of the god of death! It's not like he's gonna flip out and raise some zombies or something.

Nico snored away.

Will creased his eyebrows and shook him a little more violently. He got no reaction.

"He sleeps like a rock," Percy commented helpfully.

"I noticed." Will crossed his arms and leaned over Nico.

"WAKE UP!"

Nico snored in protest. Will shook his head.

"Try some resurrection ritual," Percy offered, grinning. Annabeth elbowed him in the gut and he let out an _oof!_

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. Will knows what he's doing."

"Uh, it looks like he doesn't. Nico's still out."

"He knows more than you do, so shut your trap."

Will didn't seem to hear them. "NICO DI ANGELO! I DEMAND THAT YOU WAKE UP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Nico shot up, colliding heads with Will, who tumbled backwards and fell to the floor, yelping and clutching his nose. Nico groaned and fell back, moaning about his head.

Percy burst out laughing, clutching his side. Annabeth covered her mouth, her eyes wide (Percy wasn't about to admit how cute that was), then she rushed to Will's side and held out a hand. Pinching his nose with one hand and gripping Annabeth's hand in the other, he stumbled back to his feet, his eyes wide.

"Nosebleed," he wheezed, his eyes crossed. "Be back in two!" He rushed off, stopping at the door. Percy ambled over to open it for him, swallowing his laughter.

"Careful with those," he advised. "I woke up Gaea and began the almost end of the world with one of those bad boys."

Will raised an eyebrow, then nodded his head in thanks as he rushed to more medical supplies. The other demigods watched Will dart away, then glanced at Nico, their eyes glinting and their laughter choked back. Kayla, Will's half sister, dashed towards Nico with a bag of ice and pressed it to his forehead. Nico took it, bleary-eyed as he glanced around.

"Wha-" He blinked, and Kayla offered him a kind smile.

"You okay, there? You kinda conked heads with Will, there," she said. Her smile widened. Nico frowned at her.

"Where is..." Nico stopped himself, quickly taking another look around the room. Percy presented a nervous grin. Nico nodded at him, adjusting the ice he pressed to his head.

"Would you like some ambrosia?" Kayla asked, offering a small cube of the medicine. Nico shook his head.

"How long has it been?" he drawled. Percy snickered.

"Dude, you are _so_ drugged up right now."

Nico met his gaze with cold intensity, and Percy wished he could snatch his words back and shove them down his throat.

Nico smiled. "Well, that explains why there's three of you."

Percy internally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, yeah. That's it."

Nico's eyes narrowed and opened his mouth as if to reply, but his gaze shifted past Percy and the words died in his mouth.

"Good afternoon, Death Boy," Will said, pulling on more gloves and lacking any sign of the nosebleed he had only moments before. "It would seem that you've risen from the Underworld finally."

"Don't _call_ me _Death Boy_," Nico hissed. Will grinned at him, undeterred.

"Don't worry, my hands are sanitized. And I wear gloves."

Nico's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"He got a nosebleed," Annabeth explained.

"From what?"

"From conkin' noggins!" Kayla said, beaming as she finished wrapping Jake's arm. He thanked her and briskly walked out.

"Oh, s-sorry."

Will shrugged and approached Nico in two strides, whipping out some eye examining thing, an opthal-something-some. The lights in the room immediately darkened, as if bending to someones will or like the instrument just soaked it in.

"What do you need the ophthalmoscope for?" Annabeth asked, and Percy threw his hands up.

Will grabbed Nico's head and shined the light in Nico's eye, yet 'Death Boy' yanked back, banging his head on the wall behind him. Will winced.

"I need to see if Nico has damage to the optic nerve," Will muttered, giving Annabeth a sideways glance. "I heard that shadow travel affects your retina's sensitivity to light."

"Uh, English, please?" Percy muttered. Will barely even looked at him.

He glared at Nico. "Did that burn your eyeball or were you being dramatic?" he demanded. Nico shook his head.

"Try surprised. You don't go around shoving stuff in people's faces."

Will held his hands up. "Fine." He waggled the ophthalmoscope. "May I?"

Nico grunted, then gave a short nod and dropped the ice pack to his side. A purple bruise was forming on his forehead, yet Will ignored it for the moment. He shined the light in Nico's eye.

"Can you look to the left for me?" Will asked. Nico obliged, and continued to do so as Will went through the whole procedure. Percy sighed and raised his eyebrows at Annabeth. She wrapped her arms around and planted a light kiss on his lips.

"Bad timing?" she asked. "Because I think you're just being impatient." Her eyes twinkled and she pulled away. Percy creased his eyebrows. It was definitely bad timing on their part. He was tempted to ask if they should wait outside until the whole check-up thing was over.

He didn't have to. Jason stuck his head through the doorway, his glasses lopsided. "Hey, Percy, you got an Iris message from Rachel."

Percy's eyes slid towards Annabeth, who made a show of staring back at Percy expectantly. "Uh, can I see what's up?" he asked, cringing. Annabeth smiled.

"Sure. Just hurry, alright?"

"I will." He gave her a light kiss and hurried after Jason.

* * *

><p>"... so basically Ella's been spouting out prophecies like no tomorrow and everyone is starting to go crazy."<p>

"That's... that really sucks."

Rachel gave Percy a lopsided grin. "Yeah, well at least we're starting to figure stuff out."

"Have you gotten your powers back yet?"

She shook her head. "Nah. But it's cool. How are things there?"

"Settling down. It's pretty quiet. We haven't had, like, any attacks on us."

"Ooh. Bonus."

"Yeah."

"Any sign of..."

Rachel didn't say his name, and she bit her lip. Percy shook his head.

"Hazel said she felt his death."

"I'm sure Leo's fine. He'll show up eventually."

Percy nodded, looking away. Hazel actually_ felt_ Leo's death, which wasn't reassuring, and Jason said Nico did, too, but neither of them seemed positive about it. However, Percy didn't want to risk getting his hopes up on some slim possibility.

"I've got to go," Percy said, breaking the short silence. "Let's talk again soon, okay?"

"Of course! And good luck."

"Yeah, you too."

Rachel's image disappeared, and Percy let out a deep breath. Things weren't exactly settling down, but Rachel didn't have Reyna's metallic dogs to call out his bluff.

More demigods were arriving to Camp-Half Blood, whether they were completely new to the Greek (and Roman, but whatever) gods, or they just now decided to join the camp. The Hermes cabin was filled to bursting, yet it probably wouldn't be like that for long, and there was the whole "building more cabins for more gods and goddesses" thing with Jason going on. So the camp was pretty much anything but quiet.

Percy sighed. Annabeth was waiting for him back in the infirmary, and he promised he would hurry. He knew better than to keep her waiting.

When he shoved open the door, he caught Nico's eye and smiled.

"So, you feeling better?"

Nico shrugged and stood up, stretching. He still pressed the ice to his forehead and seemed a little out-of it.

"Remember what I told you," Will said, crossing his arms. "Don't work yourself too hard, and try to avoid Underworld-y activity. Understood?" He raised his eyebrows, watching Nico. Hades' son let out a deep breath and nodded.

"Can he do capture the flag?" Percy asked. "I mean, it's tomorrow, so he should be good by then, right?"

"For now, I say I think he'll be eligible to play, but I won't know for sure until tomorrow."

Percy smiled. "Great! Hey, Nico, you wanna hang out with us for a little bit? We can practice stabbing Ares kids."

Mark's head shot up. "Hey, I heard that."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It was a _joke_."

Nico shook his head. "No, but thanks. I've got things to do."

"You need any help?"

"Unless you're interested in burial rites, then no."

"I could help with that," Percy said, his voice faltering. Honestly, that wasn't exactly his thing. But he felt like he should talk with Nico some more.

"You can, but you shouldn't. I'll see you later, Percy." Nico brushed past him, leaning slightly on the door as he pushed it open.

Annabeth grabbed his hand. "Don't try too hard," she said softly. "He's fine. Unless something's bothering _you_, then let him do his own thing. It's not like he hates you."

Percy looked past her, then nodded. "Alright, Wise Girl."

"You wanna head to the beach?"

He grinned and offered her an arm. She took it, smiling.

"You wanna call it a date?" he asked. Her eyes sparkled.

"I'd love to."


	2. Chapter 2

Will had fallen asleep and somehow managed to snooze on through the whole night, and then into the next day. He normally woke up pretty early and would go practice shooting arrows while the other campers started waking up.

But he was exhausted. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep over the past week with taking care of the incredible amount of injured campers. He was always rushing back and forth, trying to help campers whining, "Will, my leg hurts," and "Will, my head aches," and the occasional "Will, my ear fell off." As much as Will could handle, sometimes it just got a little too weird for him.

Weird like delivering the satyr baby, Chuck.

He was lying in bed, fast asleep, when someone shook him. He moaned and rolled over, tossing an arm over his eyes. If someone was waking _him_ up, then it had to be early. Way early. Will was in no mood to get up. He had just finished bandaging the last camper and desperately_ needed_ the sleep.

"Will?" a voice said. "Will, you awake?"

"No."

A pause. "Maybe you should hang out at the Hypnos cabin. You'd fit right in."

"Shut up."

"You know what time it is, right?"

Will released a long sigh. He could feel himself sinking back into sleep. "What?" he yawned. "Like... three?"

"Ooh. Spot on."

"Then why are you waking me up? Go away." He turned and buried his head in the pillow. It's never felt softer.

"Will, it's three_ in the afternoon_."

His head shot up and he stared straight ahead. His vision was blurry. "What?"

"I mean, if you want to sleep, that's okay, but they've announced the alliances for capture the flag," they continued. "People were wondering if you're okay. They sent me to see if you still wanted to play."

Will rubbed his eyes and blinked, then squinted to see who he was talking to.

Nico stood beside him, his face unreadable. Will tried to smile at him, but his face muscles spazzed out and he grimaced instead. A flicker of disappointment crossed Nico's face.

"It's cool if you stay and sleep," Nico murmured, turning away. "I'll see you later-"

"Wait!" Will shouted, then he winced. Nico stopped and looked back at him. "I mean, hang on a sec," Will corrected quickly. "I'm coming."

He shoved off the blanket covers, stood up and stretched. He had taken off his surgeons shirt and just slept in his jeans. He cast Nico a sideways glance and saw him look away. Will frowned, then turned away, snatched a t-shirt and threw it on, then slipped on tennis shoes. He grinned at Nico.

"How do I look?"

Nico's eyebrows rose. "Do you want my honest opinion?"

His smile faltered. "Never mind. Let's go." He marched past Nico to where everyone had gathered. His fellow campers would do a double-take when they spotted him, and he lowered his head, running a hand through his hair. Surely he didn't look _that_ bad.

Chiron went over the rules, and Annabeth crept over to Will.

"Hey, would you be okay guarding the flag?"

Will gave her a short nod and she smiled.

"Thanks!"

Chiron finished talking and everyone raced to the table where the equipment appeared. Will pulled on an armored breastplate and grabbed a sword and shield. The sword wasn't his weapon of choice, but shooting an arrow at somebody without a chance of maiming them was tough. He put the sword in a sheath, though, and grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows anyway. Having his choice weapon feel more at ease and in control.

Kayla marched up to Will, doing a fabulously poor job at suppressing a wicked grin. "Will, you look like someone beat you with a cow."

He blinked. "Your awfully blunt honesty is-"

"Appreciated. Let me help you out." She began brushing through his hair, and he groaned, knowing better than to try to stop his half sister. When she pulled away, she beamed.

"_Much_ better," she complimented. "But you look exhausted. Come on, step up your game. Do it for Dad." She gave him a stern look, then bounded off. Will trailed after her.

Since when was she such an Aphrodite?

Will was hoping that he would be on Nico's team so he could watch out for him, making sure that di Angelo stayed true to doctor's orders. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Nico jogged off with the other team toward the south woods.

Will followed his team to the north. Their flag, glistening gray with the symbols of Athena painted on it, waved proudly. Everyone turned to Annabeth. She waited until she had everyone's attention.

"Will, you said you're okay with guarding the flag?"

Will suppressed a yawn. "Of course."

"Good. You and Darin-"

Will held his hands up. "Darin?"

A boy, maybe fifteen, stepped forward. He had sharp eyes and blond hair. "Me. I was claimed by Apollo while you were so diligently taking a nap." His tone was blunt. Will's eyes narrowed. A half-brother with a nasty attitude. Wonderful. He bit back a snarl.

The rest of the group organized, plotting their attack methods, and Will turned to Darin.

"Darin, you said your name was?"

"Uh, yeah. Too tired to remember for sure?"

"And claimed by Apollo." Will flashed a smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm your head counselor."

Darin blinked, then burst into laughter. "You? Did you win in a sleeping contest?" His grin was smug, and he raised his chin as if to say _Yeah, that's right. I'm bigger than you._

Will imagined shooting Darin in the throat.

"Uh, no." He tried to remain calm. He was known for his laid-back demeanor, and he wasn't about to ruin that reputation by bashing this stupid kids' head in.

"Oh, yeah. The other ones died, didn't they?" Darin gave a rich laugh and bent over.

The other demigods glanced in their direction, staring as if asking _What's Will gonna do?_

Will studied Darin. He held the sword at his side limply, as if its weight was too much to bear. Will snorted.

"Is that sword too heavy?" he asked. "Have you not used one yet?"

"Of course I haven't used one. I just _got_ here."

"But you have fired an arrow."

Darin shifted, suddenly not feeling quite so big. Will kept a straight face.

"Have you ever_ tried _to shoot?"

Darin looked away. Will forced down a grin. Now that the kid felt vulnerable, he could try to "buddy up."

"Hey, that's fine," Will said, patting his shoulder. "Maybe I can show you how. You'll pick it up in no time, I'm sure. It's in your blood, since your dad's Apollo."

Darin shrugged him off. "Yeah, whatever."

The conch horn blew from far off, and Will watched as everyone else sprinted off. He turned back to Darin.

"You know the rules, I presume?"

Darin grunted. "Just shut up and keep watch."

Will set his jaw. He was surprised Darin hadn't already been killed for his arrogance. He was just a stuck-up son of a—

A rustling in the trees caught Will's attention, and he had an arrow nocked before he even thought of raising his bow. The feather tickled his skin as he searched for his target. Darin didn't even lift his sword.

"It's_ wind_," he said. "It's not always some-"

A small figure leaped into view and Will took the shot.

A bunny fell to the ground, an arrow protruding from it's side. Will lowered his bow, frowning.

"How absolutely incredible," Darin remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You killed the most dangerous creature there is: A RABBIT."

Suddenly, a group of demigods charged in. Will dropped the bow, snatched his shield and whipped out his sword. He hit two of them with his shield and slammed the pommel of his sword into someone's gut.

Percy leaped from the brush with a loud _whoop!_ He went straight for Darin, who raised his sword. Percy parried it with ease and swung the flat of his sword against Darin's head. Darin collapsed to the ground.

Percy charged at Will.

Will dived to the side and collapsed onto the ground, dropping his sword. He snatched his bow as he landed, then quickly whipped around and fired an arrow.

He nailed Percy in the shoulder, (yep, no more dessert for the next week) and that was when he saw it.

The flag was gone.

He leaped to his feet and whipped around.

Nico was sprinting away, clutching the chance at victory.

Will chased after him, shouting. Regrettably, he raised his bow as he ran, nocking an arrow.

He released, and the arrow bounced harmlessly off Nico's heel. Will cursed under his breath and tossed his bow aside, sprinting faster to catch Nico.

Di Angelo didn't do so much as glance back. The river marking the boundary line wasn't far. Annabeth came running in sight from the other direction with the opponent's flag, but she was too far off.

Will had to stop Nico.

He ran harder, his feet flying across the ground, and he was just close enough to skim his fingertips across Nico's shirt.

His feet suddenly became cold, but he hardly noticed. He dived at Nico.

He caught him, souring forward and wrapping his hands around Nico's waist, and they fell forwards onto the ground, Nico giving a shout of surprise.

Will lifted his head and spit out dirt. His arrows were strewn across the ground, and he lay on top of di Angelo, who groaned.

He looked back, and saw that his feet were submerged in the creek. Nico's weren't. Death Boy had crossed the boundary line, and Annabeth scowled in disappointment, the flag in her hand.

Percy came jogging over, the arrow no longer in his shoulder. He was wincing, and frowned when he saw Nico and Will, yet a grin split across his face.

"Nico, you won!" he shouted, beaming as if he had been the one to win the game.

Nico sputtered, then grumbled, "Get off me."

Will rolled off of di Angelo and rose to his feet. He held out a hand to Nico, who grabbed it and stumbled to his feet, tightly gripping the flag, which was now black with a painting of Hades' helmet on it, in his free hand. His face was covered in dirt. He wiped his eyes with an arm and blinked.

"Will?"

"Uh... yeah, sorry. I didn't know you already crossed the boundary line."

Chiron galloped over, sounding the conch horn announcing the end of the game.

Will walked up to Percy. "You alright?"

Percy put on a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. You barely got me."

"I'm pretty sure I got you with extraordinary accuracy." He smiled, looking back at di Angelo. Nico was surrounded by a crowd of people, smiling and clapping him on the back. A grin tugged at Will's lips.

"Why are you smiling?" Annabeth barked, glaring daggers at Will. "We _lost_."

"Did we now? Sorry. I suppose I'm not meant for guard duty any-"

"Uh, two things," Percy interrupted, holding up a hand while he stepped in the creek. "First of all, Will was the only one actually guarding. That other kid, well… I guess he's new. Secondly, he didn't stand a chance against my incredible plan."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, Seaweed Brain. I'll believe that when Medusa flies."

Percy raised his eyebrows at her while he splashed water on his shoulder, healing the cut.

Will turned away, joining Kayla and Austin, who were plodding out of the forest.

"Nice tackle," Austin said, snorting. Will sighed.

"Yeah, sorry. I tried to catch him, but-"

"And you were guarding the flag by yourself," Kayla said, grinning. Will nodded, yet the motion made him feel a little dizzy. Apparently a lack of sleep followed by vigorous exercise wasn't good on anyone.

Kayla continued, her eyes sparkling. "Darin didn't last-"

Austin shushed her, nodding his head behind them. Darin trudged after them, mixed in with the crowd. Kayla shrugged, but became silent.

Will rubbed his eyes. Drowsiness slowly crept over him like water over sand now that he was no longer running on adrenaline.

"Hey, I'm gonna talk with him," Will said. "I'll see you guys later."

Austin raised his eyebrows, yet shrugged indifferently. Will slowed down, then matched Darin's stride. Darin stared at his feet, looking dismal. He barely glanced at Will.

"What do you want?" he spat. Will took a deep breath, trying to keep a cool head.

"I was thinking I could show you how to shoot. What do you say?"

Darin ground his teeth, muttering under his breath. "Yeah, fine."

"Now a good time?"

Darin grunted, and Will assumed that was as close as he'd get to a yes.

"Good. Meet me in the Archery Field." Will smiled at Darin, then turned away. He spotted Nico and jogged up to him.

"Hey, di Angelo. Congrats on the win."

The corners of Nico's mouth curled slightly in a modest smile. "Yeah, thanks."

"And, uh… sorry about tackling you."

To his surprise, he thought he caught Nico blushing.

"No, don't worry about it," he said quickly. "You were just- hey, you okay?"

The trees were curling towards Will, and Nico was in three places at once. Air howled in his ears.

He shook his head. Nico folded back into one person. The trees straightened. The wind sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." He put on a smile and nudged Nico with his shoulder. "Hey, if you need any help with fixing up the Hades cabin, let me know. I've finished healing everyone."

Nico shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, thanks. I'll let you know." He grew silent, and he seemed to be debating on whether or not he should say something.

"Oh, Wiii_iiiiiiiiiii_iiilll!" a rich voice called, and Will groaned.

"Oh, Dre_eeeeeee_eew!" he replied, his tone mocking. Drew bounded up to him, hooking her arm through his.

"Nice job out there, tough guy. It's too bad your team lost." She grinned smugly at him, batting her eyelashes. "But if you want to hang out with me, I'd love to teach you some tricks _I_ like to use. You'd love that, wouldn't you."

Will shrugged, pulling his arm away. "Thanks, but no thanks. I already told Darin I'd help him with his shooting."

Drew pouted. "But wouldn't you rather hang out with me?"

"What's an easy way to put this," Will said, stopping and facing her directly. "I'm not interested."

She seemed shocked, her eyebrows furrowing, but she may just have easily been faking it.

She tilted her chin up. "Fine. I'll see you later, Will. Maybe you'd like to take me up on my offer later." She turned to Nico.

"And how have you been, sweetie? Are you feeling alright?"

Nico glared at her with so much intensity that Will took a step back.

"I'm fine, thank you," he growled.

"Oh, but you look_ so_ tired. You were in the infirmary for _so long_. You know, I've heard quite some gossip going around about you. Apparently someone overheard you talking with Percy about, well, _something_."

Nico bristled, but otherwise managed to remain stolid. "And?"

"_And _I think it's cute. We should _totally_ chat sometime. Okay? Okay!" She skipped off, saying, "See you boys around!"

Will frowned at Nico. "What was she talking about?"

Nico looked away. "Nothing. I'll see you later."

He marched off, leaving a trail of dead grass and flowers behind him.

Will left for the Archery Field.

* * *

><p>Will wasn't enjoying training.<p>

Darin's attitude _still_ sucked, and his head was_ still_ bigger than Olympus. He was picking up some training, but he wasn't focusing on details well.

"No, Darin. Pull your arrow back farther."

"I_ just_ showed you how to nock an arrow. It's not like it's rocket science."

"You need to hold the arrow on the string, or yes, it's gonna fall off."

Eventually, Daniel seemed to begin relying more on instinct. His shots hit their targets with deadly accuracy and, as more Apollo kids and other campers began joining Will and Daniel, he seemed to understand what it should _feel_ like when releasing the arrow.

After hitting six bulls-eyes in a row, he turned to Will, grinning.

"You want to see who can get the most?" he asked. Will smiled. He never missed a shot and had far more experience. The competition was hardly fair.

"You're on," he said, grabbing his bow and nocking an arrow.

"I'll go first." Darin raised his bow and released the arrow.

Perfect.

Darin smiled haughtily. "Try beating that."

Will grinned and raised his bow.

Something happened.

The target split into three, all bowing and bulging and spinning. Blood rushed through Will's ears. The world began whirling, and the bow clattered to the ground, the sound like a million vases shattering all at once. People faded in and out of view, their faces distorted, and shadows crept into his vision like spiders stretching their legs out. Pain roared in Will's stomach and his heart pounded in his head.

He retched, then collapsed. People swarmed his vision before they all formed one massive shadow.

His vision went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note: Just so you guys know, this is a little more serious chapter just with what's happened to Will. And thank you guys so much for supporting me while I write this! I really do appreciate all the help, and keep up those reviews! Thanks!

* * *

><p>Three days.<p>

Will was in the infirmary in some sort of coma for_ three days_.

That was as long as Nico spent there by doctor's orders.

Will showed no sign of waking up. He showed no signs of anything, really. He hardly seemed to breath.

"I don't know when he'll wake up," Kayla had told Nico. She sniffed. "If he wakes up at all." She had broken down then, sobbing, then hugged Nico and cried into his shoulder.

"It's not like he's dead," Nico had snapped. He stormed out of the infirmary.

He visited Will the next day. Annabeth sat on the bed next to Apollo's son, frowning.

"-he has a high fever as well," Austin was saying. "His breathing is shallow… I don't know what it could be."

Annabeth pressed her hand against Will's forehead.

"He's _really_ hot," Annabeth said. "And you've tried singing hymns to Apollo?"

Austin sighed. "Yeah, I've tried everything. Nothing's been working. He's pretty much living off ambrosia. The hymns to Apollo seem to have no affect on him."

"I suppose I know why, considering Apollo's position," Annabeth murmured. Austin's eyebrows rose.

"What do you mean by _Apollo's position_?"

Annabeth winced. "Well, I'm not sure exactly, but-"

"Hey," Nico greeted. He didn't know what exactly she meant either, but she didn't seem comfortable saying.

"Hey, Nico," she greeted. Her eyes spoke clearly: _Thank you._

"How's Will?" he asked. Kayla looked up, her eyes narrowed.

"So now you care, huh? About time, isn't it." She huffed.

Nico clenched his fists. "Excuse me?"

Kayla shot him a withering look. "I knew he wasn't dead," she hissed, "but you could have at least tried to _care_."

"I did," he growled. "I _do_ care. I'm sorry that you were practically saying he's_ dead_!"

"Quiet, both of you!" Annabeth shouted. Kayla's jaw set. Nico cast Kayla a dark glance.

"You will accomplish nothing by fighting," Annabeth continued. "Look, I might have an idea on what this may be." She took a long breath. "I'm not positive, but I think that someone was trying to reach him, like an Iris message but more directly, like trying to communicate with him _through_ him."

"Has that ever happened before?" Austin asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think so, at least there's no history specifying that it was the cause of a severe illness." She frowned. "Or maybe it doesn't always cause illness."

Nico arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"You know who the god of illness is, right?"

"Apollo," Austin replied. "You think our dad was trying to communicate with Will?"

"I think so."

"How would that make him so sick?"

"Maybe Apollo accidentally inflicted illness on Will when he failed to communicate."

"How did he fail?"

"I can't tell you for sure, but… maybe he's facing some trouble in Olympus. That may be why he tried to talk with Will."

"Why wouldn't he just send him an Iris message?"

"Maybe the two of them, Iris and Apollo, had a falling-out," Kayla offered.

"Iris generally doesn't get into arguments, but it's not impossible. She may be too busy, as well," Annabeth murmured. "As for curing this…" She shook her head. "I'll do some research, but we may have to wait this one out."

The door to the infirmary swung open, and Drew stood in the doorway. When she saw everyone staring at her, she wrinkled her nose.

"What?" she snapped. "I can't check on a friend?"

"Since when did you decide he was your friend?" Kayla asked. Drew lifted her chin.

"Since, like, forever."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Does he know?"

Austin snorted. Drew gave him a murderous look, then put on a sickly-sweet smile.

"Why don't you go fetch me a cup of water, sweetie. I'm _so_ thirsty."

Austin nodded almost hypnotically and strolled out of the room. She turned to Nico.

"Hey, hon. Why didn't you stop by?" she asked, pouting.

"He's got better things to do than hang out with you, Drew," Annabeth said, her voice sharp. "Now why are you here?"

"To visit Will," she snapped back. "Why else would I be here?"

"As you can see, he's still asleep. You've visited, now go," Kayla growled.

Drew slowly ambled up to Kayla, lifting her chin. "I don't know what gave you the impression that you get to tell me what I can and can't do, but I'm gonna go ahead and save you a long while of hurt: you don't control me. Alright, hon? Now step aside, and let me check up on Will. Now."

Kayla gritted her teeth and stepped out of her way. Nico could practically see the smoke billowing from Annabeth's ears. She stood up, fuming.

"You listen to me, _Drew_," Annabeth spat. "You stop using your charmspeak to make people do whatever it is that you want or I will do my best to make your life miserable. Do you understand?"

Drew snarled at her. "I would just love to say the same thing, but I'm afraid that Tartarus already took care of that, huh."

Everyone froze. Annabeth stiffened. "Get out."

Drew smiled smugly, yet still sauntered from the room. Austin caught up with her on the way back, yet Drew just smacked the water from his hand and continued on her way. Austin blinked rapidly, then entered the infirmary. Kayla sighed and threw herself on one of the extra beds.

"That girl is an absolute monster," she sighed, "and since when did she have any interest in Will?"

"Probably just another heart to break," Annabeth said.

"So Will's not doing any better?" Nico asked. The answer was obvious, yet he wanted turn the discussion away from Drew. That girl had really managed to get under his skin.

Austin nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid not. He hasn't responded to anything to wake him. He's just stuck in this sort of coma."

Nico released a deep breath. So it seemed like he would be stuck waiting. He was sick of always waiting.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait long.

He nodded at Austin and Kayla. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

Austin gave him a meek smile. "Thanks, Nico. And you don't have to come here all the time. If anything changes, you'll be the first to know."

Nico smiled. "Thank you." He turned and left.

He never got to talk to Will about Octavian. Sure, Will had treated him fine and didn't really mention it, but Nico still felt responsible to say something.

He had a chance to say something after capture the flag, but he hadn't.

Now he may not get the chance.

"He isn't dead," Nico grumbled to himself. "He's gonna be fine."

"Nico?" a voice chirped. "You talking to yourself?"

He turned and frowned. "Piper? What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, and Nico caught her tucking a knife into her belt.

"Nothing, just… relaxing."

His eyebrows rose. "Katoptris?" he asked. Piper's face reddened.

"Yeah, I was just... I was hoping that maybe I could see Leo."

Nico sighed and Piper quickly continued, marching up to Nico.

"I heard that you didn't seem sure and I-"

"I _felt_ his death, Piper," Nico said, his eyes pleading. "Please, _please_ don't try to look into it."

Piper drew back, her bottom lip trembling. "Tell me the truth, Nico. Do you think Leo is dead?"

Nico sighed and looked away. "I don't know, Piper. I-"

"So there _is_ a chance he's alive?" Her face was practically glowed.

"Piper!" he snapped, then he winced, seeing her mood immediately darken. "Piper," he repeated calmly, "please don't get your hopes up. If he didn't survive, that'll just make things harder on you."

She sighed, her head dropping. "I know, I just…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Never mind. How's Will?"

He blinked. "Will? Uh, well, the same. He's… he's the same."

Her eyebrows rose. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Annabeth thinks that..." He frowned, a tiny thought nagging him. "Have you seen any visions in your dagger? Maybe any of Apollo?"

"No. Why?"

"Annabeth thinks that Apollo was trying to communicate with Will and he accidentally made Will sick. I was hoping that you could see Apollo, but you're dagger, it hasn't shown you anything?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry, I wish I could help..." She left it at that. Nico nodded.

"And I'm sorry. About Leo."

"We don't know if he's dead yet, so don't bother apologizing."

Nico bit his lip and gave her a short nod, then turned and began to walk away.

"Do you like him?"

He froze. "What? Who?"

Piper cleared her throat. "Will."

Nico remained silent. She continued.

"I'm just glad that you're getting along with somebody. I'm sorry about what's going on with him, but I'm just glad that you found a friend here."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah," he said. "Me, too."


	4. Chapter 4

He didn't dream.

That was something completely new to Will. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't dream, but it had to have been a _long_ time ago.

The darkness wasn't much better. Everything seemed to churn: black against black against black. He was stuck in some bleak world he couldn't control.

No, not a world. Nothingness. He was lost in absolute _nothingness_.

He could somewhat feel his own presence, yet it was like he wasn't anywhere, like he was him, but he wasn't _him_.

Yep, he was going mad.

No, he told himself. Octavian was mad. _You_ are _not_ mad.

He saw color once. Light filled his vision, yet it was quickly replaced by smiling faces, all eager about something.

It disappeared like a camera shut off.

It was back into churning nothingness, and Will felt like he just betrayed someone.

What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be trying to leave?

But the darkness whispered softly to him, a non-existent voice filling his mind with empty promises and false security.

The worst part? He knew that the darkness wasn't where he should be. He knew it was murmuring lies. Yet he stayed, transfixed by the absurdity of the situation.

Time was just a memory, a distant thought. He didn't have to worry about time in the darkness.

The darkness.

Will didn't belong here. He was the son of the god of the _sun_. He belonged in the glimpse of light he had seen. He knew what it looked like. He needed to get there. But how?

He focused on that. He thought of the sun, of faces he knew, and willed himself to be there. He wanted to be there. He _needed_ to be there.

Light filled his eyes, and he forgot how to breath.

He just say there, choking on the air around him like some lame fish.

He saw Kayla first. Her face was panicked. She yelled at him, then beat on his chest. He didn't feel it. He closed his eyes.

The air filled his lungs. He felt the pounding on his chest, distant, yet still there.

More air filled his lungs, and he soaked it in. He released it just as quickly, then took a breath of his own. His eyes opened.

Kayla mouthed something, yet there words bounced around as if she were talking through clouds. Then she wrapped him in a hug. He patted her back gently, his thoughts scrambled.

He looked past her and saw Nico. A grin split his face, and he tried to call di Angelo's name, but his words slurred and a ringing filled his ears. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the noise.

Someone shook him. Their words began to mush together, yet he understood some of them vaguely.

"Will… no… won't… wake up!"

He tried to open his eyes, yet they were heavy as if a force was trying to yank them shut.

The ringing became a constant, solid tone. Then it began to fade.

"Will! Will, please don't! Please!"

The cries were desperate, yet he heard another voice, calm, yet melancholy.

"I was only looking for help," it whispered. "I didn't try to hurt you. I gave you what healing I could manage, Will, but you have to use your own strength. Now, my son, wake up!"

That voice faded away. It was replaced by Nico's.

"Will, you've got to open your eyes! You need to stay awake!"

He blinked. He saw Nico and Kayla staring down at him, their eyes wide as if expecting him to slip back into the darkness.

His vision cleared and he saw the ceiling of the infirmary behind them. He sat up, expecting the world to become a whirlwind.

Nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief. Kayla pulled him into a hug. Nico stood off to the side, staring at the ground with his hands in his pockets. Will grabbed his arm and dragged him towards them, pulling him into the hug. Nico grunted, his eyes wide.

Will pulled away. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "How long was I asleep?"

"Six days," Kayla replied. "You were in some sort of coma... Annabeth thinks that Apollo was trying to communicate with you and accidentally made you sick and weird and kinda dead-ish."

He was shocked. "You mean... he was..."

Kayla smiled. "Yeah. Dad was wanting to talk to you. He-"

"He needed my help," Will murmured.

She squinted. "Yeah. Did you... did you talk to him?"

"I think so. He only told me that he was looking for help, and he healed me as much as he could. That was it. I mean, I didn't see him or anything. I just heard him."

"How are you feeling?" Nico asked, looking worried. Will smiled.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"C'mon, now." Kayla grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "We've got to bring you to everyone else. Chiron's gathered everyone to discuss what's going on and is making sure no monster got in and did this to you. Argus says he hasn't seen anything. But you're saying it _was_ Apollo?"

"Clear as day." He grinned.

"Then we have to tell Chiron and everybody else."

He nodded. "Alright, then. Let's go."

He shoved open the door and wandered outside. The sky was dark and dotted with stars.

Everyone was gathered around the campfire. The fire itself was small and purple, and none of the Apollo kids were leading any songs. For the most part, everyone was quiet. Jason was the only demigod standing.

"If what Annabeth said was true," he was saying, " then, yeah, Apollo would have trouble communicating."

"Why?" Clarisse asked, her eyes narrowed. "Why would he be trying to talk to Will anyway?"

Will glanced back at Nico. "What's going on with Apollo?" he whispered. Nico just shrugged.

"Zeus wanted to punish Apollo because he thought it was his fault Gaea rose in the first place," Jason said.

Will blinked. Since when did the whole Gaea thing become his dad's fault?

"What made him think that?" Austin asked, practically reading Will's mind.

"He had given Octavian his blessing because he was promised to be... he was promised many things in return."

Clarisse snarled. "He helped that disgusting Roman?"

"He was misled," Jason countered. "And he helped_ all_ the Romans, including those that we are friends with, Clarisse. Now, I think Apollo is stuck in Olympus facing some sort of punishment Zeus is giving him. Artemis was going to try to reason with Zeus but..." Jason let the words hang in the air. Some people shuffled.

"How does that information help us help Will?" It was Drew. Everyone stared at her, not bothering to hide their surprise. They all seemed to be saying the same thing: _When did _she_ decide to speak up?_

"I don't need help," Will said. Everyone froze.

Drew reacted first. She ran over and pulled him into a kiss.

Will was more startled than anything else. And when she pulled away...

"Drew!" yelled Mabel, another daughter of Aphrodite. "How could you! You said he was mine!"

Drew whipped around and snarled at her. "Please. You were taking _way_ too long to even _talk_ to him!"

Will took a step back, his eyes wide, while Drew and Mabel continued fighting.

"But it's not fair!_ I_ liked him _first_!"

"So what? He _obviously_ likes me more. Isn't that right, hon?" Drew smiled back at him. Will shifted awkwardly.

Chiron stomped his hoof, and everyone turned towards him.

"That is enough," he said. "Everyone, sit back down." His gaze met Will's. "Are they correct? Did Apollo really try to speak with you?"

Will was still a little flustered, yet he managed to nod.

The talking erupted. Will could have sworn he heard Percy say, "Hopefully Will won't start talking in haikus."

Chiron stomped his hoof again, quieting the crowd. "What had Apollo told you?"

"A few rhymes?" someone joked. Will shrugged.

"Not much. He was mainly just apologizing for the whole sickness thing. He said that he was just looking for help."

"Why didn't he just use an Iris message?" Travis asked.

"Maybe Iris is too busy," Kayla replied. Percy frowned.

"I have an idea," he said. "I know another way to contact Apollo." Percy looked up. "Fleecy. She's an employee at R.O.F.L."

Lou Ellen snorted. "ROFL?"

"Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles," Percy replied. "Anyway, maybe she'll let me send an Iris message to him."

Annabeth shrugged. "It's worth a shot. But will she really let us send an Iris- er, Fleecy message to a god?"

"Maybe."

"Wait." Everyone turned to Chiron, who scowled. "You do realize that Apollo will be requesting your help upon us sending him this... Fleecy message. It will be much like a quest."

"Well, obviously Will is going to go," Drew said. "Maybe I-"

"Those who may be going will be decided until after we all know what we'd be getting ourselves into," Chiron said.

"So it's decided," Percy said, clapping his hands together and grinning like he won the lottery. "We're sending a Fleecy message to Apollo."


	5. Chapter 5

Will never expected his father to look the same age as him.

He had never seen his dad before (he'd only heard the stories people told), and had heard it mentioned that he was young, but...

Being, or at least appearing the same age as your father was rather disturbing.

Apollo appeared on the Fleecy message bent over a ukulele, strumming sad tunes. The campfire turned an even darker shade of purple and seemed to be about to flicker and die.

Apollo was wearing a black t-shirt and ragged jeans. Behind him was a solid, concrete-looking wall. Nobody dared to say anything. They all looked at Will.

Will cleared his throat. "Uh, Dad?"

Apollo's head shot up and his smile was almost blinding. "Will!" he exclaimed, beaming. "You're feeling better, I see. And you've brought friends to- oh, wait. I see." He sighed and plucked the strings of his ukulele. "What is it you need? I'm afraid I can't offer much..."

"I don't want any sort of blessing," Will said. "I'm wondering if you're okay."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Hold up. _You're_ checking up on _me_?"

"Yep."

Apollo gave a sad nod. "Yes, it would seem my position is most dire." He spotted Nico and nodded at him. "Hey, kid. You're looking dead."

Nico tensed, but didn't say anything.

"Are you still into that Mythomagic stuff or-"

"You know that I don't-" Nico clenched his jaw. "No. Just focus. What's going on with you?"

"I love how you love me. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"

"Do not even start," Nico growled. Apollo frowned, and his ukulele morphed into some metal box with cranks and levers.

"What's that?" Percy asked, receiving a large sigh from the rest of the demigods- way to stray the god farther from the topic at hand.

Apollo smiled from ear to ear. "This is my Valdezinator!" he announced. "I received it from that Hephaestus kid. Leo, I believe. Where is he, anyway? I need to tell him that this must be broken. It sounds _horrible_."

The campfire was barely a purple spark. Everyone's head drooped. Apollo winced.

"Oh. I see. Erm, sorry. There, there."

Will shook his head. "Apollo, where are you and how do we get you out?"

Apollo turned the cranks and levers thoughtfully, producing something that sounded like a giant being run over by a tractor.

"Well, I'm in a cell... Does that help?"

"No."

"It's not in Olympus."

"That narrows it down."

"I really don't appreciate your sarcasm, Will."

Dang. Scolded by Teenage Dad.

"Any idea on who knows where you are?" Austin asked. Apollo closed his eyes.

"My sister, Artemis. She may know. She can't help get me out, though. Father won't let her come anywhere near me." He broke into a sob, yet quickly muffled it, glancing around as if making sure nobody had seen it. "Try talking with her. As for getting me out..." He shuddered. "You may need to try to reason with Father. If I get out against his wishes, I'm afraid there would be no need for an Apollo cabin. We can't let that happen. My awesomeness must _spread_."

"Like a disease," Connor added. Apollo nodded.

"Yes, like a disease. Anyway, you may need to appease my father. Try something original. He's sick of the usual offerings and all that cheesy stuff. Unless you're good at arguing for my sake for a few centuries. If not, give him stuff."

"Who do you want to search for you?" Chiron asked. Apollo bit his lip while he continued to kill the Valdezinator.

"My son, Will," he replied. "And Nico." He frowned. "I should send three people. That would be good luck. Who else wants to go?"

Drew stepped forward immediately. "I do."

"Then you! You, um, daughter of... Aphrodite?"

"Yes. And I'm Drew, but whatever." She tossed her hair.

Apollo nodded, lifting his chin. "Very well. I appoint Will, Nico, and Drew to free me from my confinement so that I may kill Python and spread my awesomeness." He beamed and waved.

When he was gone, Chiron turned to Will. "You are going to be the leader of this quest since Apollo tried to contact you first, but since you don't have any sort of prophecy, this isn't a typical quest."

Will wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. He was asked personally by his father to be rescued (more or less, at least).

"Is it really our job to save the gods from each other?" Will asked. Chiron sighed.

"We need to do what we can to prevent a lot of fighting among them. Zeus imprisoning his son will cause a great stir."

"Can there be day without Apollo?" Lou Ellen asked.

"I don't know for sure. If Apollo was imprisoned for several days now, then certainly. But if he was just actually imprisoned tonight, I don't know."

Drew approached Will from behind and looped her arm through his. Will's jaw set.

"So, are you excited?" she asked.

Will scanned the crowd, searching for Nico. When he finally spotted him, he pulled away from Drew.

"Di Angelo!" he called, and Nico looked up, seeming surprised. "Hey, are you okay with going on the quest?" he asked. Nico had just returned to Camp Half-Blood, bringing the Athena Parthenos with him, and was probably not all happy-go-lucky about leaving again.

"Yeah," Nico said. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Nico nodded. Will nodded back. "Well… yeah, great. I'll see you around, Death Boy."

"How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Yeah, I got it." Will smiled. "I'll be in my cabin when you need me."

"When do we leave?"

"Soon. And I'll expect you to have my back, di Angelo. If I die, you resurrect me as a zombie and we keep going like nothing happened."

"What about doctor's orders?" A grin tugged at Nico's lips.

"When I'm dead, we screw doctor's orders."

"It's tempting to kill you now."

"Aw, don't do that. I won't make it to Elysium."

He meant it as a joke, but Nico's smile disappeared.

"No," he said. "You definitely will."

Will blinked. Sure, people told him that he was great at healing and all that good stuff, but he was never called a hero, worthy of Elysium.

And Nico just did.

"Thanks, di Angelo. That really means a lot to me."

Nico's face reddened and he turned away. "Later," he grumbled.

"Yep."

He headed for the Apollo cabin, his mind elsewhere.

* * *

><p>He stuffed a backpack full of food and medical supplies. Lots of people dropped by and told him that they knew he would eventually get a quest, he deserved it, he should be proud, he's so lucky, and bleee<em>eeeeeeeeeeeg<em>. Soon all the compliments he rarely heard before smushed together until his brain had a major fart attack and he couldn't handle it anymore.

He made sure he had all the supplies he needed and left for the Hades cabin, shouldering a bow and quiver full of arrows.

He did _not_ expect to see Drew. She sat on the bed next to Nico's, watching as di Angelo stuffed his bag. She had a backpack of her own (probably filled with permanent make-up and more outfits) and had thoroughly combed her hair. She and Nico were talking (What the heck?) until Will entered.

The silence was actually quite deafening.

Will shifted from one foot to the other, adjusting his backpack.

"Uh, hey Drew. Nico."

"Hey, sweetie," Drew replied, smiling. "Are you all set?"

"Think so."

"Good. I've got money for moving along, getting rides, buying shoes, and all that. And don't you worry. I've got plenty to get by."

"Great. Thanks."

Her smile widened because that was somehow possible. "Anything, hon."

"And how about you, di Angelo?"

"Yeah." He zipped up his backpack. "I'm ready."

"Armed and dangerous?"

Drew tsked. "Not armed, but _certainly_ dangerous." She bat her eyelashes.

"You'll need more than good looks for a quest," Nico said, glaring at her. "Surely you can use some sort of weapon."

She yawned. "But weapons are so messy."

"So's your dead body struck by lightning. _Get a weapon_."

She glared at Nico. "And I thought things were going so well." She huffed and headed for the doorway. "Catch you in a minute, Will," she said, pecking him on the cheek.

_Not if I shoot you first,_ Will almost replied. He swallowed the comment and rolled his eyes.

"She's getting on my nerves," Will grumbled when the door shut behind the mini-Aphrodite.

"She's not your type?" Nico asked casually. Will didn't see Death Boy's Stygian iron sword but was sure he had it.

"Nah." Will didn't elaborate. He slipped off his bow and arrows and lay them on one of the extra beds.

"She uses charmspeak on you a lot."

Will's eyebrows rose. "Huh. I guess that's why I haven't slugged her yet."

"Or you don't go around slugging people just because they like you."

"So she's turning my niceness against me. How could she."

"You didn't need her help."

"Ah. So you you agree. I'm nice on my own free _Will_." He winked.

"I'm saying that you turn your niceness against yourself. I wasn't complimenting you."

"You hear it one way, I hear it another."

"You choose to misinterpret what I said."

"All I heard was _niceness_. Say no more."

"Isn't being nice mean that you're humble?"

"Not necessarily, but being humble is one of my amazing qualities among being smart, funny, handsome, brave, friendly, and generous."

"Alright, Narcissus, keep talking."

"So you love the sound of my voice? Me, too. It's quite enchanting,_ I_ think, and apparently so do you."

"Shut up."

Will laughed, and his heart practically skipped a beat when Nico laughed with him.

Wait.

"I've got my sword!" Drew sang, entering the cabin. "I haven't practiced with it as much as I should have, but it will do." She stuffed the blade in a sheath and grinned at Will and Nico darkly, her smile seeming almost sinister. "Well, boys? Who's ready to rescue a god?"


	6. Chapter 6

The guy is seventeen and _cannot drive_.

_Shouldn't_ drive actually, at least that's what he told Drew. He had insisted that they let Argus drive. Like seriously.

"I don't have a license, so that's not the responsible thing to do. Besides, he is legally allowed to, and with all his eyes, he'll do much better."

Will made her nervous on the drive. He turned ghastly pale and closed his eyes. He looked like he had fallen asleep.

Her first thought was _Awwwwwwww!_ Her second thought was _Oh, crap!_

"Will!" she shouted, shaking him. "Will, don't enter the light!"

He released a loud "_Uggggghhhhhhhhhh_," and glared at her.

"Really, Drew? Are you gonna do that every time I close my eyes?"

Each time he said her name, her heart would miss a beat. Gods, he was adorable. There was just one problem.

Will hated her. No matter what tricks Drew pulled from her sleeve, he managed to dodge her, even straight up_ ignore her_. She deserved better, yet she deserved _him_.

Now it was like he had a stick up his behind: he was chiding her for _worrying_ about him. Only, like, five minutes ago, everyone was worried that he was going to die in his sleep.

"I'm sorry that I care about you, Will." She huffed. "Are you gonna snap at me every single time I check to see if you're okay? What do you mean every time, anyway? Is this going to happen often?"

Will rubbed his temple. She heard Nico snort.

"You get car sick, don't you," Nico said. It wasn't a question. Will slowly nodded.

How cute.

She leaned over and gave him a light kiss. His breath tickled her cheek when he released a sigh.

"Drew-"

"Okay, Will," she said. If there were going to be rules, she was going to make them. "I'll let _you_ decide when you want to kiss _me_. Happy?" He opened his mouth, but she continued. "And trust me, you're going to want to eventually. By then, I'll probably have moved on." She turned up her nose and looked away.

Will remained silent. Argus sighed.

Her eyes drifted to her backpack which held Will's bow and all his arrows. The bag could carry just about anything, thanks to a little spell cast by Lou Ellen, and she felt flattered that Will trusted her with his weapon.

She's had crushes on guys before. Yeah, real shocker. At camp, she had one on Jason. Back at school, there was that guy Sadie Kane was apparently dating that she saw at the school dance. Seriously, that guy had to be a _god_. Drew didn't even find out his name.

But what she felt towards Will was different. It was more, and every time that he gave her that look, that _Why are you talking to me?_ one, it felt like something inside of her broke.

She had to be slower with him. Become good friends first, help him on this quest. Whatever it took.

Will slouched back in his seat. Drew peaked behind Nico's headrest and smiled at him. He scowled.

"What do you want, Drew?"

"How do you feel about shadow traveling?"

"Di Angelo is not shadow traveling," Will grumbled. "Doctor's orders."

"I feel fine," Nico muttered.

"You thought you were fine last time you did it," Will said. "No."

"But-"

"No."

"Will-"

"No."

"Hey, I-"

"No."

Nico glared at Will, who raised his eyebrows as if waiting for di Angelo to argue.

Nico gave in first, shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"Don't worry," Drew said. "You'll be fine soon."

Nico didn't reply. Drew felt like screaming. It would seem that her two quest-buddies weren't happy about her tagging along. In fact, the three of them didn't seem to work well together at all. How they ever planned on helping Apollo was a mystery to her.

There was a loud _whaaaaaaack_ and the car began to drag. Argus pulled off to the side of the road, his eyebrows furrowed. Nico stiffened and Will frowned.

"What's going on?" Drew asked while the car drew to a stop. Argus just shook his head, all his eyes looking worried.

A girl, maybe thirteen, knocked on Drew's window. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a camouflage jacket. Drew rolled down the window.

"Hey, sweetie," she said. "How can I help you?"

The girl pursed her lips and crossed her arms. Drew noticed her bow a little too late.

"Artemis," Nico said. "What are you doing?"

Artemis glared at Drew, then turned to Nico. "I don't know where my brother is."

"Great," Will muttered. "Just the help we needed."

Artemis' gaze fixed on Will.

"Ignore him," Drew said quickly, filling her voice with charmspeak. "He's not himself."

Artemis nodded agreeably. "Nevertheless, I have some information on him you need."

Drew pushed open the door and stepped out. An arrow pierced the back wheel. Argus stared at Artemis with all of his eyes widened. Artemis bowed her head at him.

"Argus."

He nodded back back at her, blinking.

"Apollo is no longer contained in the cell," Artemis said. Will perked up, which resulted in him banging his head on the ceiling of the car. Drew choked back a laugh while he rubbed his temples and clambered out.

"Wow," he said, his voice soft as if anything too loud would split his head open. "That's actually some great news. So what's happened to him?"

Artemis sighed. "I did what I could, but Father- Zeus- he still punished Apollo. Apollo is now wasting a year of his life on being a mortal, much as he has done before. However, he must accomplish a task within a year or else..."

"Or else what?" Drew winced as she let the question slip.

"I'm afraid I don't know for sure."

"What do you think?" Nico asked.

"I think that, if Apollo doesn't complete the task, Zeus may try to keep him a mortal forever."

That statement was responded by absolute silence.

"And the task?" Will said, breaking the quiet.

"I do not know that either, but there's one thing I do know: my brother is horrid at all that he does. He will need your assistance. You must find him and help him. I will search for him as well, but I have other things to do, too. If you wish for another way to possibly help Apollo, try to sway Zeus. Give him an offering in exchange for Apollo's freedom from the cursed mortal life."

"And if we can't?" Drew was afraid of what the goddess's response would be. She was hoping for an _It's okay! We'll figure it out! We are mature gods after all!_

Sadly, the answer was quite upsetting.

"My brother will die a mortal death."

Will had paled even more so, and Drew was pretty sure that at any random moment, he was going to puke everywhere.

He didn't. Instead, his jaw set. "We'll help Apollo. We won't let him down."

Nico was the only one actually thinking straight. "What would Zeus want as an offering?"

Oh yeah, that would be good to know!

"Give him something worth remembering for a millenia."

"Any hints or suggestions?" Drew asked. Artemis nodded.

"Prove to him that demigods are capable of doing what gods cannot, or of being just as talented as a god or goddess."

"That should be easy," Nico muttered. Artemis frowned at him, then looked at the arrow piercing the car tire.

"You must make your decision to either find and help my brother or to confront Zeus. Don't choose incorrectly. My brother's life may depend on it." She turned and marched off. Drew sighed.

"Well, what do we do now?"

Will reached into the car and handed Drew her backpack, then grabbed his own.

"Would you rather go to Apollo or go to Zeus?"

She blinked. Will was letting _her_ make the calls. Woah.

"Zeus," she said. "We know where he is- Olympus."

"We need to go to Apollo," Nico said, not even glancing at Drew as he stepped out of the car. "Zeus is stubborn. It would take years to have him change his mind."

Will bit his lip, his blue eyes becoming foggy.

"Maybe, but maybe we could do that thing Artemis suggested. Prove that we can do what a god can't even manage."

Nico kicked a pebble across the ground, shaking his head.

"But what if that doesn't work?" he asked. "What are you planning on doing anyway?"

Will gave Drew a sideways glance, looking worried. Drew smiled at him.

"I can give one of the goddesses a makeover," she said. "Or maybe Zeus wants to change up his look."

Nico rolled his eyes. Drew faced him. "You can challenge someone to a game of that Mythomagic you love so much."

Nico's face darkened, yet she quickly turned to Will. "You can sing to them."

"Uh, no."

"Uh, yeah."

"Drew, I don't sing."

"I heard you singing when you were taking care of the patients, Will."

"That's different. I was healing them. Besides, I'd be compared to Apollo and all those singing people. He'd vaporize me."

Drew glared at him. "Have some confidence in yourself, Will. Seriously."

Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look, Drew, I don't think that's a good idea. We may just have to find Apollo and figure out his task. Then we help him from there."

"What if it involves something we can't do, like killing all the empousai there ever was?"

With the natural calm that seemed entwined with Will's demeanor, he hardly seemed like someone capable of killing lots and lots of empousai.

"Then that's what we'll do."

Drew groaned. "Yeah. Great plan."

"We need to figure out where Apollo is," Nico stated. Drew snorted.

"We need to find a bus to give us a ride to wherever the guy is, too" she said. She peeked through the window and smiled at Argus. "You can take care of this, right, hon?"

Argus nodded.

"Good. We'll see you later. We're gonna go catch a ride on a bus. Tell Camp Half-Blood we're saving Mortal Apollo."


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for all of your alerts and favorites! Your support keeps me writing! I can't possibly thank you enough! You all ROCK!**

**Special thanks to CheetosPotato for reviewing every chapter! Will and Nico both give you a free hug! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

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><p>Word on the street was that the god of the sun was homeless.<p>

His dad kicked him out of the house and left him to fend for himself in the real world. The poor guy was only a few gazillion years old!

Will had Drew and Nico with him to help save this defenseless god. They were heroically waiting for the bus to show up and give them a ride (with absolutely no clue on where they were going) when a couple of people walking by mentioned something about a homeless man scaring small children by teaching them about how to be awesome. Apparently, one of the kids asked, "If you're so awesome, then why are you homeless?"

It went downhill from there. Some policemen got involved, but they ended up letting the guy go.

Will jogged over to the two ladies talking. " 'Scuse me, ma'am, but where is that homeless man you were talking about?"

The lady with curly blond hair blinked as if wondering why this boy was speaking with her. "Um, he's somewhere on 6th Avenue by Central Park. Why?"

"He's my dad."

She blinked and opened her mouth to reply, but her friend quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her off.

Will turned back to Drew and Nico. Nico was sitting on the bench, the breeze wafting his hair, twirling the ring on his finger and stretching his legs out in front of him.

His eyes flicked towards Will. "Anything on Apollo?" he asked.

"Yeah. There's some homeless guy trying to teach people how to be awesome."

Drew snorted. "Well, I sure hope that's not his task, otherwise he is _definitely_ screwed."

Will shrugged. "I don't think Zeus would give him a job he wants. Besides, I was actually wondering why he's homeless, or why he's seemed to go off the deep end."

Drew pursed her lips. "I don't know. You would think Zeus would make Apollo king of everything after he blamed him for almost destroying the world. Maybe Zeus would even throw in a servant or two." She suddenly smacked Will upside the head, and he flinched.

"Hey! Drew!"

"_Of course_ he's homeless! Zeus obviously isn't trying to make things easy on him!"

Will looked to Nico for support, but di Angelo nodded his head agreeably. Apparently Death Boy was on Drew's side.

"Yeah, okay. But still, could Zeus make him crazy?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"He wouldn't need Zeus' help to reach crazy," Nico grumbled. Will shot him a glare and he winced. "Oh, sorry."

Drew huffed and sat on the bench next to Nico. "Alright," she said, looking up at Will. "What do you want to do?"

"Take the bus to my dad. They said he's on 6th Avenue near Central Park." Will glanced back at the road.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Nico asked, his eyes concerned. "After seeing you in the car..."

"I'll be fine," Will said quickly, turning away when he felt his face flush. "We just need to move quickly so we don't lose him."

By the time the bus arrived, every seat was already taken, so the three demigods just gripped onto the poles. The bus lurched into motion, and Will clung to the pole so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stared at his feet, yet it still felt like he was in the center of a tornado. He could feel the world bending and spinning around him.

"Hey, sir," a voice chirped, and someone tapped his shoulder. He tilted his head up and saw a girl, maybe nine or ten, watching him. "Do you need to sit down?" she asked.

Great. A nine-year old was doing better than him.

He put on a smile, trying to avoid seeing the world rushing past them outside the window. "No, thanks. I'm okay."

"Fine, but if you puke, don't let it be on me." She threw herself into the seat, crossing her arms. Will sighed.

They drew to a stop and the doors swung open.

Will hoped that he was hallucinating.

Two small dwarf-like creatures stepping in. They had tufts of dark hair and frayed clothes. Their mischievous green eyes seemed to glow and their skin was so pale it was practically blinding.

No, their eyes didn't _seem_ to glow. They _did_ glow.

Will racked his brain on what they were, but his mind was still fuzzy and out-of it. He nudged Drew with his elbow while the two creatures grabbed a pole, sniffing the air.

"I know," Drew whispered to him. "That's a Kobalos, isn't it?"

Kobalos. Of course. Will would've mistaken them for kerkopes, but he heard those had wild red hair and had been stealing from the Roman's on the march to Camp Half-Blood. He was never really sure if the kerkopes and kobaloi were the same creatures, but apparently they weren't. His question, however, was what were they doing in in Manhattan.

The bus reeled forward again, and Will stumbled. Nico quickly grabbed him, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around Will and holding him in place. Will was thankful for the help- he probably would've puked all over that little girl without it.

Nico's eyes widened and he quickly let go of Will. Will immediately grabbed the pole and followed Nico's gaze- the kobaloi were making their way to the back of the bus. Nico reached into his backpack, but didn't pull out his sword. He was tense, as if waiting to see what the kobaloi were going to do.

They stopped and snarled at Nico. Nico glared back at them, his back rigid. Will felt absolutely useless- he couldn't even attempt to appear threatening, and he would be hopeless in a fight.

One Kobalo wrinkled his nose and turned away, and Will breathed a sigh of relief. He rested his forehead on the pole, trying to ignore the rumbling of the bus.

First, his own dad almost killed him by making him sick, then a stupid bus was beginning to accomplish the task his dad's sickness didn't. Will was just having a fantastic day.

Drew patted him on the shoulder, her eyes still on the Kobaloi. "Don't worry, Will. Just a little bit longer. We'll take care of them if necessary."

Will nodded and closed his eyes.

The rumbling of the bus seemed to ease to a gentle sway, and the spinning tornado he was in earlier eased into a soft breeze. Will could fall asleep.

His thoughts drifted around him like dust, and the darkness was comforting, wrapping him in a warm blanket. It was like he was back in the infirmary, sleeping away. He didn't have to open his eyes, and he didn't want to.

There was a soft knock on his head, but he hardly noticed it, and the voices on the bus subsided to drift with his scattered thoughts. This was the healthiest he'd ever felt on a bus or in a car. If it was always like this, he wouldn't mind going for a drive. He may even be willing to learn how to drive himself.

A tiny whisper, something of a fleeting voice, murmured in his ear. He didn't understand it. He didn't even know if it said any words at all, or if it was just a breath, but he knew what it meant.

He opened his eyes.

He was looking up at Nico, whose eyes were pleading as he spoke. Behind Nico, several passengers on the bus were standing around them, one of them talking on the phone while he kept glancing back at Will.

Everything disappeared. Will tried to fight against it, but it felt as if his arms and legs were pinned against him and he couldn't budge.

What was happening? Was it the sickness? Were there some odd side effects or something? Could he fight it?

He felt his body go limp.

He was going to fail his quest before it even got started.

Will felt like screaming, but then that wouldn't exactly make everyone else feel better about his condition.

Then again, why did he care about whether or not they were worried about him?

He remembered his dad's words last time he was stuck in the darkness._You have to use your own strength. Now, my son, wake up!_

His fists clenched and he grimaced, and he was pretty sure that anybody watching him would think he was constipated, but he didn't care. He needed to wake up, and he would do whatever it took. Why it felt like someone kept knocking him down, pulling him back up to his feet only to throw him against the wall…

He tried not to lose himself in the darkness again. Whatever that void did to lure him in, he shut it down. He cleared his mind.

But that didn't work.

Instead he thought about the familiar faces. Austin, Kayla, Nico...

His eyelids flew open. He was still looking up at Nico. Nico stared back at him, frozen as if scared a single motion would kill Will.

Drew came into his vision, her eyes watering.

Sirens off in the distance sent Will into a panic. He shot up, almost colliding heads with Nico again, and scrambled to his feet. The man that was on the phone rushed towards him.

"Woah, there, son," he said grabbing Will's shoulders. "Relax. The police and an ambulance are on their way."

Will shook his head and turned to Nico and Drew, but he noticed something below him glowing. He looked down, and almost passed out again.

His hands were filled with a golden light, as if a flashlight was being held under them. He quickly hid them behind his back. Nico and Drew didn't seem to notice.

"We need to leave," he said quickly. "Now!"

Nico and Drew got the message. They sprinted off the bus. Will chased after them, the cries of the passengers behind them.

Luckily, they weren't far from their destination. As they neared Central Park, they slowed down and ducked away from the clusters of people.

Will tucked his hands in his pockets. Drew glanced around. She then took a step towards Will, yet she stopped herself.

"Will?" she asked. "What happened there? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly. Drew nodded, yet Nico's eyes narrowed. He marched up to Will until he was only an inch away, and Will stiffened. Nico stared at him with so much intensity it was unnerving, like he was staring at a son of Hades who belonged to a totally different time period or something totally crazy like that.

He felt blood rush through his ears, and he stared at his feet.

"Will, you look worse than _I_ normally look."

Will put on a smile. "Awww. Thanks, bud. That's the nicest thing someones said to me all day."

Drew shushed them. "Hang on." She tilted her head. "I hear someone coming. I think it's people from the bus. I'll go distract them."

Without a second of hesitation, she jogged out onto the street. Why she had suddenly become so interested in the quest, Will had no idea, but he didn't have time to worry about that.

Right now, Death Boy was glaring so hard at Will that it probably could've burned through his skull.

Nico's gaze slid down to Will's hands, and Will winced.

"What are you holding?" Nico demanded.

"Nothing."

Wrong answer. Di Angelo looked like he was about to kill.

"Show me your hands," he growled.

"Oh, you want to hold my hands? That's-"

"Will!" Nico said, his voice sharp. "Now."

Will closed his eyes and pulled his hands out of his pockets. He didn't know what to expect, but he didn't exactly want Nico to start cracking jokes about Will's hands being on fire.

Looking back on that, Will figured that the possibility of Nico making a joke about it was slim.

However, Nico managed to look somewhere in between horrified and shocked. "Will! What did... how... when..."

"I don't know!"

"But how could this"

"I don't know!"

"Will, calm-"

"I don't know!" Will almost ran a hand through his hair, but he stopped himself. Nico's look changed to sympathetic.

"Hey, don't worry about that. We'll figure it out."

But Will's heart pounded against his chest, and his head spun. Di Angelo's reaction only sent him into a panic, and they couldn't afford that.

Will gulped. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Nico," he said slowly, his face serious. "Give me your hand. I want to make sure my power works."

Nico's eyes widened and he shook his head, cringing away.

"No, Will, I-"

Will lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Now."

Nico obliged, raising a hand slowly as if he suspected Will was going to bite it off.

When Will took it, he felt a shock like he had right after Nico shadow traveled next to him. Unlike last time, it faded, as if Nico was growing stronger by the second.

"It works," Nico grumbled, pulling away. "Now, just wait on Drew. Then we should decide what to do with Apollo."

Will nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.

Drew came back with a grin on her face.

"They're all taken care of," she said. "You've got nothing to worry about. And the Kobalos stayed on the bus as far as I know, so I don't think they're after us. So, what are we planning to do with Apollo?"

"Let's talk with him and see if he's sane, first," Nico said. "After that..." He turned to Will.

"If he is sane," Will continued, "then we'll talk with him. We figure out what his task is."

"And if he's not?" Drew raised her eyebrows. Will sighed and gave her a shrug.

"We'll figure that out if we face that problem. Let's just hope for the best."

Drew crossed her arms. "Uh, 'the best' never exactly happens with demigods."

"Fine. We'll kidnap him."

"What? You've got to be as crazy as Hobo Apollo if you plan to do _that_."

"Then I'm crazy. Now, we need to get to my dad soon. For all I know, he's been arrested for excessively trying to teach people how to be awesome or antagonizing people or something."

For most people, that wouldn't exactly make sense. However, Drew and Nico nodded and they went on the search for an "awesome" homeless god.

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><p>As they walked, Drew talked endlessly about the gossip going around camp, wondering if this person was dating this person or if someone broke someones heart or if Mabel totally wished she was on the quest or how the Aphrodite cabin was going to survive with only Piper to lead or there was a secret sleepover that was going on without her or maybe...<p>

Will kinda dozed off. Woops.

Will kept his hands shoved in his pockets, and he would see Nico occasionally glance back at him, his expression concerned, but he'd quickly turn away. And sure, Will appreciated Nico's concern, but di Angelo's anxiety really got to Will's head.

When Drew finally gasped for air, she finally became aware of her surroundings.

"You've been pretty quiet," she noted.

Will shrugged. "Nico's been quiet, and you don't have anything to say about that."

"Because Nico's always quiet. Right Nico?"

Nico sighed. Drew raised her eyebrows at Will. "See? And get your hands out of your pockets otherwise you'll land on your face if you trip." She turned away, striding forward as passersby dodged around her. Will glanced at Nico, who twirled his ring.

They heard him before they saw him.

"-so I am, indeed, Fred! I am, indeed, hungry, so feed me! I can sing! I can make a haiku for you!"

"Here, take this sandwich," someone offered.

"On wheat bread? No, thank you!"

"Woah," Drew said when they rounded the corner. "He is one hot hobo."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "He's hobo-licious."

Naturally, Drew fell apart laughing. People hardly glanced at her, and the few people paying Fred any attention walked away.

Drew, Nico, and Will glanced at each other, then back at Apollo.

Apollo/Fred was sitting cross-legged next to the sidewalk. His hair was a mess, his clothes was tattered, and he was covered in dirt.

He shook his head angrily, muttering to himself. He looked like a kid being stuck in time-out.

Not like his actual situation was much different.

He looked up when he heard Will, Drew, and Nico walked over, and Will immediately noticed that his vision was cloudy.

"Hey, there," Will said slowly, trying to determine if his dad was sane or not.

Apollo blinked. "Hey," he replied cautiously as if testing out the word.

"You okay?"

"Give me some food and I may live. My life is in your hands! Feed me! I am Fred!"

"He's totally lost it," Drew said, tossing her hair over a shoulder. Apollo glared at her.

"Hi," he growled. "I _am not _crazy."

Will did the logical thing.

He tackled Apollo.

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><p><strong>This chapter was a little longer than the rest (the other ones were kinda short so I made sure to make a longer one ^•^) and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing! I love knowing that people are reading this, so REVIEW! (Please?) I want to continue hearing what you guys are thinking, and thank you so much!**

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><p>"It's an Iris message!" someone shouted. Percy looked up from his plate and frowned as Grover dashed forward. "It's from Drew!"<p>

Percy jumped to his feet and followed after Grover. Campers raced after them, and Chiron galloped behind everyone, his face worried. Annabeth reached Percy's side, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.

When they reached the Iris message, Drew was smiling and brushing back her hair. Her grin seemed forced.

"Hello, everybody!" she sang, beaming.

"What's up?" Percy asked.

"Has Argus come back yet?"

He blinked, and Chiron answered for him.

"No. Is there something wrong?"

"Nah, Artemis just shot our ride. We had to walk for a bit."

"Ahh, that sucks," Percy said. Honestly, he really didn't want to know why Artemis shot their car. "What're you doing now? Do you know where Apollo is?"

She gave a nervous laugh and tossed her hair back. "Yeah, about that..."

"Will, DO NOT KILL HIM!" someone behind her shouted, and Nico's head bobbed into view, his eyes narrowed.

"Drew!" Annabeth shouted. "What's going on?"

Drew glanced behind her, biting her lip. "Well, I don't really know... You'd have to talk to Will after he's back to normal."

"What do you mean 'back to normal?'" Percy asked, his eyebrows raised.

Just as he said that, Nico and Will stumbled into view. Will was giggling like a five-year old, and Nico had his arms wrapped around him.

"-and no, Will. Let's stay over here, okay?" Nico was cooing. "Leave him alone. No, Will! NO!"

"Daddy!" Will shouted gleefully while Nico tried to pry the knife from his hands.

All the campers could only stare in complete shock. Percy winced.

"Apollo!" Drew yelled, turning from the Iris message. "How much longer?"

A homeless man came into view, his eyebrows furrowed. Percy instantly recognized the god.

_Woah, _Percy thought, glancing at Annabeth. _He's back to being Fred._

Apollo faced the Iris message, muttering under his breath. "Camp Half-Blood," he greeted. He was lacking his usual blinding smile, but maybe the homeless-ness was getting to him. "I needed to tell you all this, for you should be aware of what Drew, Nico, and Will are going to be doing."

"I thought they were rescuing you!" someone shouted. Apollo grimaced.

"Yeah, uh, that's the idea," he said. "But the problem with that is I-" He suddenly flinched and stumbled back a step. "Father wants me to kill Python!" he said quickly, shaking his head. "I can't! Not while I'm mortal!" Will grappled for him, a childish grin plastered to his face. Nico held Will tightly, not letting him budge. Drew was staring at Apollo.

"You WHAT? And you expect US to do that?" She marched up to Apollo, her arms crossed.

"Nico!" Annabeth called. Nico glanced up, ignoring Will murmuring, "Niiiiiiicoooo," and giggling hysterically.

"What's going on with Apollo and Will?" she asked.

"My father," Apollo answered for him. "He's made me this crazy mortal. He made me appear homeless so that I would feel homeless so that I couldn't accomplish my task."

Percy blinked. "What?"

"Zeus made Apollo feel homeless so that he would act like it," Annabeth said.

"Then why isn't he acting like that now?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at Apollo. Apollo glanced at Will, his eyes sad.

"My son," Apollo answered finally. "He took on Zeus' curse. It made him, too, act the way he looks or feels."

Will turned and stared at Nico, who shifted uncomfortably.

"So, he feels childish?" Annabeth said, frowning. Apollo shrugged. Drew, who had been glaring daggers at Apollo, sniffed.

"How long is it supposed to last?" she asked.

Apollo faced Will and crossed his eyes. Will clapped his hands excitingly, laughing. A grin tugged at Apollo's mouth. "I'm not sure," he replied, ruffling Will's hair which earned him a "Daaaaaaadyyyyyy..."

Percy sighed. "Hopefully not long," he grumbled. "If they're going to be killing Python, then they need to be in good shape."

"It wasn't all that hard," Apollo said. "He dies pretty easily."

"But you're a god," Percy countered.

"I was four days old or something like that. Sheesh."

"But you're a _god_," Percy repeated, scowling. Apollo huffed.

"I don't think the curse should last long on Will," he said. "Will's powers aren't fully developed yet, so his 'cure' will be quite temporary."

Will frowned, then glanced back at Nico. "Niiiiiicooooo," he drawled, pulling di Angelo into a hug. Nico's jaw set and he stiffened, and Drew rolled her eyes.

Wow. Nico was actually letting Will hug him. It was probably killing the kid.

"Anyway," Apollo said quickly, "soon my Oracle should be able to tell you prophecies so that you can begin your... _true_ quests again. She should be operating by the end of the year if these guys can kill Python properly. If not, I'm going to be, like, mortal forever."

Annabeth's gray eyes grew to the size of golf balls. "_What?_"

"Yeah, well that's what happens when-" The rest of his sentence was drowned out by a loud explosion from within camp. Everybody turned to see smoke billowing from the beach.

It didn't take long for them to end the Iris message and tear off to the shore.

When he got there, Percy froze. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. His mind just went completely blank, and Annabeth tightly gripped his hand.

Festus sputtered and dug his nose into the sand.

Leo leaped off, then turned and helped somebody else off the dragon.

Calypso climbed to the ground.

"Oh, my gods," Piper said, covering her mouth. Jason appeared at her side, gaping.

Leo beamed and bowed. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, arching an eyebrow. "I present to you Leo the Great, Festus the Awesome, and Calypso the Talking Machine." Calypso smacked him on the arm, and he winced. "I mean Calypso the Wonderful," he corrected quickly.

Annabeth's stormy gray eyes searched Percy's eyes, her face worried.

"Percy," she whispered. "You okay?"

He gave her a slight nod and squeezed her hand.

Nobody else said a word until Chiron stepped forward. He bowed to Calypso. Everyone else began to do the same, but Percy couldn't. He was frozen in place.

Calypso met his gaze and her smile faded. Leo looked back and forth between the two of them before stepping in front of Calypso, quietly whispering something to her. When he stepped out of the way, his head low, she slowly approached Percy.

He found his voice. "Calypso-"

She slapped him, then turned to Annabeth, whose eyes narrowed and face twisted to where she looked ready to tear Calypso's head off.

"Annabeth?" Calypso asked, raising her eyebrows. Annabeth pursed her lips.

"Yeah?" she snarled.

"It's nice to meet you. I've only heard wonderful things about you," she said, unfazed. She looked back at Percy. "You are very lucky to have her," she stated. Percy slowly nodded.

"Th-thanks. Calypso, look, I'm sorry that I-"

"I know." She placed a light kiss on his cheek, causing Leo to stiffen and Festus to sigh (which resulted in a whirlwind of sand coating several of the campers). "I'm over it," she said, turning and walking back to Leo. She looped her arm through his and Chiron lifted his head.

"Calypso," he said, and she bowed her head at him.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Chiron," she said.

"I would ask how you left your island, but I can't say I need to," he replied, his gaze sliding towards Leo. Leo grinned, running a hand through his hair.

Piper finally sprinted forward and pulled Leo into a hug. Leo's eyes widened in surprise, but he hugged her back.

"How could you do that to us?" Piper demanded, pulling away. "We thought you died up there!"

Calypso frowned and faced Leo expectantly. Leo laughed nervously. "Yeah, funny story..."

"It's just good knowing you're here," Jason said, walking forward and patting him on the back. Leo nodded.

"Yeah, you, too."

"Well?" Clarisse stepped forward, scowling. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Yeah!" somebody else agreed.

"Time moved differently where I came from," Calypso said quickly. Leo nodded.

"Yeah. That's... yeah."

Annabeth's eyebrows rose and she glanced Percy, her eyes glinting. Percy smiled and shrugged.

Festus released another deep breath, and Percy covered his eyes to block out the sand. Leo patted the dragon, which slowly rose to its feet, creaking and groaning. Soon, the Hephaestus kid was surrounded by campers, and Calypso stepped off to the side only to be forced back into the midst of everyone.

Annabeth sighed, reaching up and planting a kiss on Percy's lips. "What do you think he was up to?"

"Dunno. Time really does go differently there. But maybe they flew around the world with Festus."

"Maybe." She smiled, yet it quickly faded. "But Apollo... Zeus is planning to make him mortal forever. Do you know what that means?"

Percy's jaw clenched. "A war, probably." He groaned. "And we _just_ finished one."

Annabeth's eyes became stormy. "And killing Python means more quests."

"Do you think they'll be able to kill him? Nico and them, I mean."

"My question is if Zeus would free Apollo if it was Will, Nico, or Drew that killed Python."

"Oh."

"But Will did cure Apollo for a little bit."

"Maybe they could bring Apollo with them and cure him when they find Python."

Annabeth shook her head, biting her lip. "That would slow them down, probably, but that may be their best shot. But after seeing what curing Apollo did to Will... I just hope that he would return to normal. We don't know if he even did this time." She sighed.

"Hey." Percy met her gaze, his face stern. "They'll be fine. They're going to figure it out. Right now, let's just focus on camp, okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, okay."

Percy peered at the crowd gathered around Leo and Calypso. He decided it would probably be better to wait until later to talk to Hephaestus' son. Percy had pretty much zero idea on how the guy lived. Then again, he could set himself on fire, befriended a dragon which he turned into a flying ship then back into a dragon, and managed to free Calypso. So, sure, why not avoid death and leave Thanatos whining and stomping his godly feet?

Percy stared at the waves creeping onto the beach and released a deep breath. He and Annabeth remained quiet.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Leo jogged up to them, grinning. "Hey, sorry about all that."

Percy smiled. "Nah, it's cool. So, how'd you do it? How'd you live?"

Leo winked. "Let's just say Festus had a trick up his sleeve."

Festus clicked in agreement from within the crowd of campers. Annabeth pulled Leo in a hug, beaming.

"Leo, what you did..." She shook her head. "That was amazing."

"I know, right?" He laughed. "I'm just kidding. Thanks. Really."

Jason and Piper ambled over, and Piper gave Leo a lopsided grin. "So, I see things between you and Calypso went well."

Leo blushed, but quickly hid it with a smile. "Yeah, I guess. So, where's Hazel and Frank?"

"They're at the Roman camp," Percy said.

"Oh. And did Nico... leave?"

"He was asked by Apollo to go on a quest with Will. Drew tagged along with them."

Leo gaped at him. "_Seriously?_ Nico just got back here! And Apollo asked them to go on a quest? What quest?"

Annabeth began filling Leo in with all the details, and Percy turned to Piper and Jason. Jason pushed his glasses up, and he frowned. "Do you think Will's gonna be okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Percy replied. "He's tough, and he's got Nico and Drew." Percy wasn't exactly a fan of Drew, but she seemed to be keeping an eye on both Will and Nico. "How's the cabin-building going?"

Jason sighed. "It's... going. Slowly but surely, I guess."

"The campers in the Hermes cabin are being claimed like crazy," Piper said. "The new cabins that have been finished are already being filled up."

Jason nodded. "Yeah. It's been pretty hectic. The Hephaestus kids are working machines, though. Uh, no pun intended."

"Now you've got Leo to help out with that, too," Percy noted. Piper nodded eagerly.

"Yeah. Things will probably be moving faster from now on."

Jason laughed. "I guess, but he should probably settle in first. And what are we going to do with Calypso?"

"We'll figure it out," Piper said. Jason nodded, and they both quieted as Calypso walked over. A grin split Piper's face.

"So," she said. "You're the girl Leo adored."

Calypso grinned. "You must be Piper. It's nice to meet you."

Piper blinked, then glanced back at Leo. "Leo! What did you say about me?" Leo shrugged, not meeting her gaze. Calypso laughed.

"It wasn't bad," she promised. She spoke with Piper for a little bit, then continued to greet everyone she hadn't already met, keeping a smile on her face the whole time. Percy wasn't sure, but she almost seemed relieved, as if she could finally take a breath. Percy would probably feel the same way if he was just released from being stuck on an island for a gazillion years, only seeing a single person every now and then.

Annabeth took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. Percy sighed. He wish he could stop worrying about something every once in a while. It seemed like there was always something that nagged at the back of his mind, like Nico being sent on this quest right after being stuck in the infirmary. He wished that he could finally get a chance to breathe like Calypso had managed. He deserved a chance to be at ease. Surely he'd earned _that_ much by now.

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><p><strong>Sorry that this may have ended a little awkwardly... I tried to wrap things up well! Also, give me some helpful critisism, comments, point out any grammar errors, or even tell me what you want to see in the upcoming chapters to inspire me! Thank you for reading!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Special thanks to everybody that has followed, favorited, or reviewed my story!**

**-At TailsDoll13: I'm so glad to have inspired you! I can't possibly express how much that means to me! *childish Will sneaks away and gives you a hug***

**Thank you everybody who's reading this story! As always, you are INCREDIBLE!**

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><p>Will held Nico in an iron grip, and no matter how hard Drew tried to pry him off, his grip would only tighten. At first, warmth spread from Will's touch and branched out, spreading throughout Nico's body like the ripples from a pebble dropped in water. Then, he felt the energy like magic, and he figured something was going down that he may not be a fan of.<p>

"Will, please-" Nico gasped, sucking in air and trying to catch his breath. Will showed no sign that he heard di Angelo, and Apollo frowned.

"Will," Apollo cooed. "I think it's time to let go."

"No!" Will turned and glared at his father. "I won't!"

"Will." Apollo's tone darkened, and a shadow fell across his face. "Let go of the boy right this instant."

Will wrinkled his nose, then faced Nico. His crinkled nose was only an inch away, and his blue eyes reminded Nico of the sky on a summer day except more innocent. Will pouted.

"You don't want me to let go, right?"

Nico could feel his face beginning to burn which only embarrassed him more, and he looked anywhere except at Will's eyes and kept as much space between them as he could. Drew cleared her throat.

"Will, let go on the count of three."

"You don't tell me what-"

"One."

A fleeting glimpse of panic crossed Will's face, but he didn't let go.

"Two." Drew lifted her chin and gave Will a threatening look as if daring him to test her patience. Will looked down at his feet and released Nico.

Apollo seemed impressed. "Well done, Drew. As for your quest-"

"Killing Python?" Drew shook her head. "How? Where is he?"

"To find him, you must seek my Oracle."

"The Oracle?" Nico asked. "But I thought it was-"

"No, not anymore."

Drew raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't say anything.

"Python is with my Oracle of Delphi, or he will be soon. You must find it, yet I must kill it."

Will's eyebrows furrowed. "Kill?"

Apollo gave Will an apologetic look, then continued. "Yes. Since it was my task given to me by Zeus, it will be my blow." He suddenly grabbed his head and clenched his jaw. "Quickly!" he continued. "Before Zeus knows that you-" He gasped for a breath, then collapsed. Drew grabbed him before his head struck the ground, then gently lowered him. She looked up at Nico, yet her gaze slid towards Will.

Will had sunk to the grass, his head in his hands. Drew raised her eyebrows at Nico, nodding her head at Will. Nico sighed, then lowered himself onto the ground next to Apollo's son while Drew watched the homeless god.

Urg. What was Nico supposed to say? _Yeah, sorry that you want crazy and were hugging me and wouldn't let go until Drew counted to three. Oh, yeah! Python's after Rachel and Apollo has to kill it so we have to drag him around with us. Want some nectar for that head?_

"Hey," he said instead. Will looked up at him, his eyes calmer like they were before he had glowing hands and attacked his dad. Thankfully, Apollo had cleared things up with all that, or else Nico would be afraid that Will was homicidal.

"Hey?" Will lowered his hands and stared at them. "What... what happened?"

Nico blinked. "You don't remember?" Will shook his head and his gaze slid towards Apollo. His eyes widened and he tried scrambling to his feet, but Nico put a hand on his shoulder surprising both himself and Will. Will looked down at him, and Nico quickly let go. "Apollo's fine," he said hurriedly. "You cured him, at least for a little bit. He just... got tired."

Will's eyes narrowed. "Really," he said dubiously. "He _got tired_."

Nico forced himself to stop fidgeting. "Something like that."

Will sighed. "And what happened to me?"

Drew met Nico's gaze and he could feel the silent argument.

_Tell him,_ she insisted. Nico glared at her.

_No. He'll only be upset with himself._

"He doesn't want to be in the dark," Drew said.

Nico scowled. "It's better than-"

"Than what? Him hugging people? At least he acknowledged you."

Will rolled his eyes and sighed, exasperated. "Do I even _want _to know?"

"No."

"Yes."

Drew and Nico glared at each other. Apollo grumbled, "I am Freeeeed."

"You took on Apollo's... illness," Drew finally said, and Nico huffed. "Zeus dressed Apollo like he was homeless, then cursed him so that he would act that way except really crazy or weird or whatever. When you took that curse, you acted like you were three or something."

Will paled. "Huh?"

"You, like, imprinted on Nico or something."

"Not really," Nico grumbled. Drew rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You were just hugging Nico a lot, and you snapped at Apollo. I had to count to three before you let go."

Will frowned. "Oh." His gave Nico a sideways glance. "Sorry, di Angelo."

"Yeah, well she didn't mention the knife."

Will eyebrows rose. "Knife?"

"You were holding a knife and trying to get to your dad. Your intentions were unclear."

Will snorted. "Sounds crystal to me."

"Oh, yeah."

"Obviously I wanted to stab you."

"You were hugging me."

"I was manipulating you to soften you for the kill."

Nico stifled a grin and looked away, but Will caught the smile and his eyes twinkled.

"I saw that," Will taunted. "Death Boy likes me."

Nico eyes widened and he whipped around. "What?!"

Will stepped back, his mouth forming an _O_. Alarm flashed across his eyes. Drew looked up from prodding Apollo, who grumbled in protest. She watched Nico knowingly.

_She already figured it out, _he thought grudgingly. He never even told her. She heard rumors and put the pieces together, not to mention that she was the daughter of Aphrodite, so she probably would've figured it out anyway.

Will, on the other hand, hadn't heard Nico admitting that he had a crush on Percy, at least Nico didn't think he did.

Will put on a smile. "Hey, di Angelo," he said, patting Nico on the shoulder, and Nico breathed a sigh of relief. "Relax. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything." Something flashed across his eyes, but it passed too quickly for Nico to recognize it. Disappointment, anger, amusement? But Will had already turned towards Apollo. Drew stepped away so Will could talk with Fred/Apollo, then ambled up to Nico, her face grim.

"What was that?" she demanded, and Nico cast her a dark look.

"Excuse me?"

She should've backed off. Most people did. She was either stupid or _really_ stupid because she held her ground.

"You just flipped out. Surely you're not _that_ sensitive."

Anger pulsed through his veins and his fists clenched, yet he swallowed his pride. His hands relaxed and he looked away. "I know," he grumbled, feeling like a scolded eight year-old. "I know that's not..." His gaze flicked towards Will, who was crouched next to the god, and he lowered his voice. "I know that it's not what he meant. He just.. caught me off guard."

"There's no reason to be on-guard in the first place, Nico," she said softly, shocking Nico. Drew never seemed like the comforting type back at Camp Half-Blood. She was all wrapped up in breaking hearts. But if she had a different plan in mind to break Nico...

She wouldn't. This seemed like genuine concern.

"We've got a problem," Will said, wrapping an arm around Apollo and helping the god to his feet. "We don't know Apollo's task."

"_Act_ually," Drew drawled, and Will's lips parted and he squinted like _You've got to be kidding me. _"We already know," she continued. "He has to kill Python. And we can't do it for him, so you'll have to do that whole cure-thing again."

"But-"

"And Python is with the Oracle, a.k.a. Rachel, and she's, like, at Camp Jupiter."

"Hold it," Will said, holding up his hands. "I have no idea how I cured Apollo. My hands just randomly started glowing. Also, Camp Jupiter is, well, far."

"That's one of the biggest understatements I've heard all week," Nico grumbled. Will glared at him.

"I'm just saying that we can't exactly take the bus there."

"No kidding."

"Did I ask for your input, di Angelo? I don't think so." Will lifted his chin stubbornly, and Nico matched his glare. They remained like that for a few moments until Nico finally looked away, sighing.

"Okay," Will continued, "so we have to make it to California, and we can't exactly bring Apollo on a plane or Zeus would accidentally shoot us down. Any ideas?"

Nico raised a hand, then quickly put it down. "I'll shadow-travel us there," he said, and Will's face grew stern.

"No, Nico. Doctor's orders."

"Will-"

"Nico, you know what-"

"_Listen to_ _me_," he hissed, and Will opened and closed his mouth, seeming indecisive. Nico took the opportunity. "Will, when… when you're hands were glowing and you wanted to see if your powers worked, I felt... stronger. It was like you healed me or something. Whatever it was, I know I can do it. I can use my powers. Please, Will. Trust me."

Nico didn't know if he could shadow travel, but it was there best chance. And he wasn't lying when he said he felt something. He was sure that Will noticed it, too. Surely, whatever that magic was, it gave him enough power to shadow travel.

Will clenched his jaw and released a deep breath.

"And we've got another problem," Drew said, reaching for her sword. "The Kobaloi seemed to have gotten interested in demigods."

Nico turned around and caught a glimpse of glowing green orbs- their eyes. He drew his sword, and Will pulled his bow and arrows from Drew's backpack. He nocked an arrow but remained lax, not raising the bow. Apollo growled, viciously glaring at the dwarfs while hiding behind Will.

A Kobalos waddled out from behind a tree, his tufts of hair bouncing with each step. "Fear me!" he shrieked, and Will laughed.

"Fear you? You're dreadfully outnumbered. What do expect to-" His sentence was cut short by a yelp of surprise, and Nico whipped around to see a Kobalos clinging to his shoulders. Will tucked and rolled, squashing the Kobalos beneath him, yet it screamed at him in determination while it snatched arrows and snapped them in half. Apollo jumped away to cower behind Nico, but Nico tore off after the Kobalos, brandishing his sword.

The Kobalos skittered away, its pockets suspiciously fatter than before he attacked Apollo's son. Will leaped back to his feet and reached for an arrow only to find that his quiver was empty, so he began searching the grass. Nico leaped at the Kobalos.

It cartwheeled away and Nico skidded to a halt, grinding his teeth. If this creature wanted to play games, then fine, but Nico wasn't about to hand over a win.

Hands tore upwards through the grass and grappled for the Kobalos, and passersby sprinted away, shrieking. Nico didn't know what they were seeing, but apparently it wasn't all that pleasant.

Drew was sprinted after the other Kobalos, shouting out, "Let me catch you!" and, "You really, really want to let me kill you!"

That would normally seem very strange, but Nico reminded himself that she was using charmspeak. Besides, he had his own Kobalos to worry about.

Nico was just about to march forward and give the dwarf a nasty haircut when it soured backward with a yelp. Before Nico could blink, the little guy was pinned to a tree by five arrows: two fastened the shoulders of his shirt to the tree, two tacked his pants, and one was frighteningly close to an especially sensitive spot. Nico glanced back at Will, who lowered his bow. In two long strides, he was standing in front of the Kobalos. He snatched the last arrow from his quiver and nocked it.

"Nice shot?" the dwarf tried. Will's gaze narrowed.

"What do you mean?" he hissed. "I missed."

Nico glanced back and forth between the two, frowning.

"The rest of my arrows," Will growled. "Hand them over."

The Kobalos swallowed, then slowly reached into his pocket and tossed a pile of broken arrows onto the ground. Will stared down at them, then raised his bow and pointed it at the Kolabos' nose. "Your name and what you want," he demanded.

"We-we were sent here," the Kobalos stuttered. "I'm Sillus. My brother, h-he's Triballus."

"Who sent you and why?" Will said slowly, his voice sending a chill down Nico's spine. It seemed that Apollo's son could be threatening when he wanted to.

"Z-zeus," Sillus stammered. "He said we would get a really awesome reward. He just wanted us to delay you for as long as we could." He gulped and eyed the bow warily. Will glanced at Nico.

"Where's Drew?" he asked.

"She went after the other one. Triballus."

"Well, she took the rest of my arrows with her." Will regarded Sillus thoughtfully, then walked up to Nico. "What should I do with them?" he asked quietly. Nico sighed.

"I don't know. We shouldn't bring them with us, so maybe we can tie them to a tree and have Drew use charmspeak on them, then I can shadow travel us to Camp Jupiter before they can get loose."

Will dipped his head, his blue eyes worried. "Nico, are up for that? Really."

Nico suppressed a groan. "_Yes_, Will. I'm fine." He held out his hands to Will, forcing away the urge to draw back. "You can check."

Will met Nico's gaze and stared at him for a minute, watching him with a slight smile tugging at his lips, and the look made butterflies dance in Nico's stomach. He finally grabbed Nico's hands, and Nico shuddered as he felt the shock. Even if it was becoming familiar, the feeling wasn't something that he'd ever feel comfortable with.

Will's eyebrows creased and he looked back up at Nico. "Di Angelo, you're... you're fine."

Nico didn't pull his hands away. He didn't want to. "I know. That's what I've been telling you this whole time if you've been listening to anybody but yourself."

"Hey, we already established that everyone loves listening to me talk. It's not my fault that my voice so great."

Nico rolled his eyes, and a cursory glance caught Sillus trying to pull out the arrows pinning him to the tree.

"Secure Sillus and let's go find Drew, okay, Narcissus?"

Will's smile widened. "Sure thing, Death Boy."

"Hey-"

"Ah-ah," Will said, waggling a finger at Nico. "You call me Narcissus, I call you Death Boy."

Nico set his jaw and grumbled, "Whatever. Just check on Sillus. There's no way the arrows are gonna hold him any longer."

Will shrugged. "You'd be surprised. Those babies are pretty strong."

Just to prove his point, Sillus gave the arrows a hard yank. Nothing happened. Will turned back to Nico, beaming. "Told you."

A drawn out groan sliced through the air, and Drew came trekking into view, gripping Triballus by the ear. She tossed her hair back, exasperated.

"Thanks for the help," she snapped. Will held his hands up defensively.

"Sorry, Drew. We were busy."

"Yeah, sure." She glanced down at Triballus. "Go tie you and your brother to that tree."

Triballus obliged, grabbing the rope that Drew held out to him. When he finished, Drew adjusted it and tightened it until they could barely move.

That's when they realized they were forgetting someone.

"Apollo," Nico whispered, his fists clenching. "Where in the name of the gods has he gone?"

Drew pursed her lips. "There were two of you here, and _neither one of you _thought to check on him? Will, I'm mostly talking to you."

Will's eyes grew wide. "What? Why?"

"He's your dad! Now go find him. It shouldn't be too hard. He's probably scaring people. Nico and I will watch the Kobaloi. Right, hon?"

She faced Nico expectantly, and Nico nodded. "Yeah. Fine."

"Good. Will, don't get yourself killed." She pulled off her backpack and tossed him a few arrows. "You seemed a little short," she remarked, her eyes flicking towards the broken arrows scattered across the ground.

Will nodded. "Thanks. I'll be quick." With that, he turned and jogged off. Drew's watched him go, and a sad look tugged at her eyes.

"He's okay, right?" she asked.

"I think so. We'll just have to find out what happened with him when he healed Apollo so he can figure out how to do it again when we see Python."

"Mm-hmm." She tilted her head. "Nico, don't encourage him to do anything stupid, okay?"

He blinked. "Uh, okay. Why?"

She smiled. "You two always seem to be trying to fight it out, like who's stronger than who."

"Not really-"

"Yeah, you have. Just don't get each other killed, alright, hon?"

Nico looked away. Of course. He would never let Will die on him. However, he couldn't make any promises on his part. He'd probably die if it would keep the others safe. He didn't want to let anybody else down. Not again.

"Alright," he said quietly. "I will."

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><p><strong>Let me know what you want to see happen next chapter! I'm open to ideas and some nice dashes of inspiration from you guys! don't be afraid to review- I don't bite! Also, <strong>feel free to give me helpful criticism<strong> and let me know on any grammatical errors you have seen (I know how annoying and distracting those can be, and I'll try to change them right away!).**

_**Side note: **I have my finals coming up next week so I may not be able to publish this as quickly. I'll try to squeeze in some time to write! Please, don't hate me! Nico and Will can give you free hugs in the meantime!_


	10. Chapter 10

**First off, I know I'm posting this earlier than usual, but a.) I wouldn't find time to do it later and b.) I was too excited to wait. Anyways...**

**Thanks to everybody for reviewing, following, and favoriting my story! Everyone who did so gets a hug from Nico!**

**Be sure to let me know your thoughts and what you want to see in upcoming chapters! Your support keeps me writing! Thank you!**

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><p>Will didn't keep his promise.<p>

He said that he'd be back quickly.

He wasn't.

Drew sighed and leaned against a tree. It was a wonder that nobody's stumbled across them and seen two dwarfs tied a tree and two teenagers wielding deadly weapons.

Nico mentioned something about how he caught Sillus- dead people's hands tried to grab him. When Drew asked if those dead people were buried in Central Park, he just shrugged indifferently. As if she hadn't already had enough to worry about.

She wondered what everyone back at Camp Half-Blood was doing. Did the Aphrodite cabin even miss her? Ever since Piper came along, they've all seemed to hate her, and she became some sort of outcast. Then the new girl makes Drew step back from her position as cabin leader and completely changes up everything. "No breaking hearts required!" Piper had announced. Well, guess what, _Piper_- they were actually honoring their mom by that little tradition. After all, the goddess of love was _always _breaking hearts. Refusing to do the same just wasn't right.

Drew huffed and crossed her arms. She glanced at Nico, who leaned against the tree with his eyes closed, twirling the ring on his finger. He hardly spoke to her, and when he did, it was always short and quiet. She didn't get the feeling that he didn't like her like she felt before, but he seemed wary as if afraid she was gonna stab him in the back.

"So, what's up?" Drew asked casually, tossing her hair back and putting on a smile. Nico gave her a sideways glance.

"You tell me," he grumbled. Drew sighed.

"Hey, sweetie, I'm just wondering what you're thinking about."

"That's odd."

"It's not odd to have a nice chat! So, what's on your mind?"

He faced her. "If you've got a real question, either ask it or shut it."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Now you're being rude." She tsked. "Okay, fine. I was wondering if you're really gay."

He attempted to look casual, but she could see him tensing. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

"I heard that you had a crush on Percy, and you just did that little freak out earlier, but I wanted to actually hear it from you, not a he-said-she-said thing, or just a hunch. And you avoided the subject when I visited your cabin before we left."

"How come you didn't figure it out before? You _are _the daughter of Aphrodite." He didn't meet her gaze.

"Yeah, that's not exactly one of my specialties. Everybody seems to think that." She paused.

"Fine. Why do you care anyway?" he asked.

"I was just wondering. That's it."

A lie. She knew that wasn't it, and he probably did, too. He was watching her expectantly.

But it was too late to push it any further. The words, "You can't compete with my awesomeness!" rang through the air, and Drew rolled her eyes as Apollo charged into view with Will hot on his heels. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the lopsided grin on the demigod's face.

"Indeed I can!" Will announced, his smile widening as he motioned with his hands dramatically. "Let's settle this with a contest! Whoever is the most polite wins!"

"That's STUPID!"

"Starting on the count of three!"

"No!"

"Yes! One!"

"STOP!"

"Two!"

"NO! STOP THIS NOW!"

"Three!" Will immediately turned to Drew. "May I have that bag you're carrying, Miss Tanaka?"

Drew huffed dramatically. "I guess..." She slid it off her shoulder and held it out to him. "Here."

Will nodded and slid off his quiver and shoved it in, then tucked away his bow, too. Unfortunately, the bag he had wasn't exactly big enough for all that, but Drew was really beginning to appreciate Lou Ellen's spell on her own backpack.

"Thank you," Will said, holding the bag out to her. Drew grabbed it, letting her hand graze his. In those few moments, she let some Aphrodite magic roll off of her, but Will didn't even bat an eye. He turned back to Apollo, and Drew caught Nico frowning at her.

The Kobaloi grumbled to each other, testing their rope bonds and casting hateful glances at Drew, Nico, and Will. "We should leave," Drew said. "Soon."

Apollo sniffed. "Where?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Yes it-!" Apollo quickly shut his mouth, glancing at Will. "Er, yes, ma'am."

Drew smiled smugly. "Good. Nico, can you get us out of here?"

Nico nodded and shouldered his backpack. "Yeah. Make sure you've got everything you need."

Will eyed the Kobaloi. "Is there anything else you've got?" he asked, not unkindly. The Kobaloi stuck their tongues out, and Will's eyebrows rose. "Okay. I think we're good."

"Alright." Nico closed his eyes and slowly held his hands out. Drew gently grabbed one, and Will gripped the other. Apollo took Drew's hand, glancing at her uncertainly.

Before Drew could say a word, she felt herself pulled into the darkness.

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><p>The first thing Will did was turn away and vomit. The first thing Apollo did was point at his son shrieking, "I win! I win!" Drew blinked rapidly, her head spinning, and Nico watched all of them with a hint of amusement.<p>

Will slowly lowered himself onto the ground, his face as pale as it was when he was in the car. Drew cast a little spell on herself just to make sure that she didn't look as bad as she felt, then rushed to Will's side. She sat on the ground next to him and felt his forehead with the back of her hand. Will gently grabbed her wrist and set it back on the ground, smiling kindly.

"I'm fine," he insisted, and Drew strained to hear him over her pounding heart. "I was just a little dizzy, that's all." He then turned to Apollo, who was skipping in circles proclaiming his victory. "Sit down and shut up!" he ordered. Apollo froze and blinked, squinting at Will. Will glared at the god until he sat down, looking flustered. Nico wandered up to them, staring down at the buildings in front of them. Drew blinked, then gazed at them. She didn't see anybody running around which surprised her- she had expected Camp Jupiter to be bustling with people.

"We left Camp Half-Blood… when?" Will asked. Drew shrugged.

"I know that it was lunch time when we sent them the Iris message."

"Everyone here is probably having breakfast or something," Nico grumbled.

"Oh, good." Drew put on a smile. "Do you know the way there?"

"_Ugggggghhhhhh_," Will groaned, falling backwards. "I can't even _think_ about eating."

"I don't think Terminus knows we're here," Nico continued muttering.

"If you're not hungry, then don't eat! We weren't planning on eating anyway," Drew said to Will, who stuck his tongue out at her. She raised her eyebrows. "And if you're going to act like that, why don't we just send you back to the Kobaloi."

"I didn't say we were going to eat anything. I just said I didn't want to think about it."

"We should really be careful about approaching them," Nico said quietly.

"Then don't think about eating, Will. Gods, why do you have to make everything so complicated?"

"I am Freeeeeeeeed-"

"Hey!"

Everyone froze, even Apollo, and turned towards Nico, who cast them all a dark glare that made Drew's skin crawl.

"Okay," Nico said, his voice much calmer. "We need to be really careful about approaching the Romans. They can be… on edge."

Will smiled. "Don't worry. I can deal with that."

"Uh, no."

"Uh, yeah."

"Will, last time you told me 'I got this' you ran off waving your hair like a flag almost getting yourself killed by Romans so that you could provide a very temporary distraction that really just sucked."

"That hurt, di Angelo. Right in the heart."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"I just mean that I can keep them a bit calmer," Will continued. "It's just something I can, uh… manage, I guess. I need to make sure my patients are calm so it's something I'm pretty good at for the most part, so how hard can a bunch of angry Roman demigods be?" He grinned.

"Will…" Nico sighed and shook his head. Apollo sniffed and his eyes started to tear up.

Will and Nico didn't seem to notice the god becoming extremely emotional, so Drew quietly sat next to him. "What's up?" she asked.

Apollo looked up at her, his eyes welled with tears. "They don't like archers," he whispered, and Drew frowned.

"Uh, what do you mean by that, sweetie?"

"They won't like me because I like arrows to shoot people." He sniffed, and Drew glanced at Nico.

"Hey, Nico," she called. "Wasn't that new praetor, Frank, an archer?"

"Yeah. Why?"

She turned around until she faced Apollo completely. "No, Apollo-"

"Fred."

"Fine. Fred, they like archers. Their leader is an archer."

"They won't like that we have weapons on us," Nico stated.

"Then put them all in my backpack," Drew compensated. Apollo tilted his head and searched through his rags.

"I don't have my weapons," he said. Drew nodded.

"Good." She stood up in front of Will and Nico, holding open her bag for them. "Put them in."

"My bow's already in there," Will stated. "How much can that thing hold, anyway?"

Drew's eyebrows creased. "I don't know," she admitted. "Lou Ellen said there was a limit, though. If I go over that limit, it, like, explodes or something."

"Ooh."

She snorted. "I don't think you'd like it if your bow caught on fire."

"I guess you're right."

Once Nico had safely tucked away his sword (with no explosion), he stretched and began meandering away, motioning for them to follow.

* * *

><p>At first, nobody was happy to see them. After that, however, Reyna stood up and greeted them with open arms.<p>

"Nico!" she said, pulling Hades' son into a hug. Nico shocked Drew when he hugged her back, a smile clearly spelled across his face.

"Reyna," he said, nodding his head. "This is Drew and Will. They're… friends."

"You hesitated, and you forgot about the homeless man," Reyna murmured from the corner of her mouth before shaking hands with Drew and Will. She held out her hand to Apollo, who hesitantly took it. "And how did you manage to get in?" She glared at Nico, who avoided her gaze.

"We shadow traveled," he said. "But I'm fine." he added quickly. "We have good healers at Camp Half-Blood."

"They can't be that good, Nico. You were-"

"Hey," Will protested. "I'm one of those 'not good enough' healers. I would appreciate a thank you for saving Death Boy, here."

Nico whipped around and glared at Will. "Do _not_ call me-"

"NICO!" Hazel tackled her half-brother into a hug, smiling from ear to ear. "What are you doing here?" Frank appeared at her side, and a grin split his face.

"Hey, Nico," he said. "Have you been able to eat popcorn ever since-"

Nico paled. "I don't want to talk about it."

Frank grinned, and Will's eyebrows furrowed, and all Drew could think about was how cute that made him look.

"What brought you to Camp Jupiter?" Reyna asked. When her first response was silence, her face became grim. "Let's discuss this in private," she said, motioning for them to follow her. "Zhang, keep an eye on everybody for me."

Frank nodded, and Drew, Will, Nico, and Apollo were escorted away.

Reyna glanced around and crossed her arms. "Start off by telling me who _he_ is," she said, nodding her head at Apollo.

"My dad."

Reyna watched Will thoughtfully. "Okay."

"He's Apollo," Will added.

Reyna sighed.

"She's taking this all really well," Will whispered to Drew.

"What happened to Apollo?" Reyna asked.

"I'm Fred," Apollo said sharply, earning a glare from Reyna.

"Zeus punished him because he thinks that Apollo was responsible for raising Gaea," Nico replied. "He turned Apollo into some homeless guy and made him kind of, well, _pazzo_."

"Ah. I see." She observed Apollo for a moment, then gave Will and Drew cursory glances. "And what are all of you doing here?"

Will took a deep breath. "Well, um, it's about Rachel."

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. Do you know where she is?"

"She's with everyone else. Is there something going on with her?"

"Sort of. I mean, yes. Something is- yeah."

"Do I need to bring her out here?"

Will glanced at Nico and Drew, then shook his head. "No. I don't want to worry anybody. We need to try to take care of the problem quietly."

"And what's the problem."

"Python."

Reyna's eyes narrowed. "What about Python?"

"We think it's after Rachel. We don't know why, but…" He turned to Drew and Nico for help.

"When Apollo was acting normal," Drew said, "he told us that Python was with the Oracle, or at least it will be if it isn't already. We don't know why it's after her, though. But Apollo has to kill it. If he doesn't, he becomes mortal for the rest of his life."

Will hissed through his teeth. "Forgot to confirm that little detail, Drew."

She winced. "Sorry, hon."

"How long does he have?" Reyna asked, tensing.

"A year," Nico said. "But we know where Python is about to be, so right now is our best shot to let Apollo kill him now."

"And how do you plan on having _Fred _kill him?"

Nico and Drew turned to Will, who looked down at his hands. "I'm gonna have to find out how I cured him," Will said quietly. "I did it once, already. Unfortunately, I have no clue how I managed it."

Reyna nodded. "Very well. And if Python really is after Rachel, we must have somebody watching her at all times. We don't know how powerful that creature is, but I certainly don't want to find out."

She marched away.

"That went well." Will grinned. Nico sighed.

"Yeah. We come here and all we bring is trouble."

"No, we bring trouble and a way to stop it."

"Oh, they must be _so_ appreciative."

"Di Angelo, chill, man. They're not gonna hate us because Python's after Rachel. That wasn't our fault."

"They won't see it that way."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Have you spent as much time with them as I have?"

"Uh, no?"

"Then don't assume that you know more than me, Will, because you don't," Nico snapped, his fists clenched. Will's jaw set and his eyes flashed.

"And why do you think that they'll assume it's our fault, Death Boy?"

"Because… because we came here with Apollo and we were the ones that told them that Python was coming."

"Hate on the messangers, huh."

Nico bit his tongue. Will put a hand on Nico's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. "Look, di Angelo, I don't know why you expect people to immediately resort to the worst possible thing-"

"I don't."

Will glared at Nico, who glared back. A smile crept into Will's lips. "Fine. I believe you. But don't start assuming that the Romans are gonna be mad at us, okay?"

Nico looked down at his feet. "Yeah. 'kay."

"Look me in the eye and say it."

Nico huffed and crossed his arms, meeting Will's gaze with an expression of defiance. "I won't make assumptions about the Romans." He blew a tuft of hair out of his face. "Happy?"

"Very." Will wrapped an arm around the Nico's shoulders and messed up his hair. Nico squirmed away, his face turning red as he grumbled, "Let's just meet back up with everybody."

_He's blushing,_ Drew thought, frowning. _So he does have a crush on Will. Too bad Will's-_

"One more thing before we head back," Will's said, his grin becoming more wicked than Drew's seen him do. Nico released a deep breath and turned to face Will.

"What more do you wan-"

Will grabbed Nico's collar and pulled him into a kiss.

It could possibly have lasted only moments, but it felt like years to Drew. Will didn't release di Angelo, his hand knotting in Nico's shirt, and he leaned into Hades' son as if folding them together.

When he finally pulled away, Nico stood absolutely still, stunned, and Will wandered off with his hands behind his head saying, "Yep, I thought so."

Drew's only thought was, _Gods, what just happened?_

* * *

><p><strong>Mwahahahaha! The moment you've all been waiting for! Don't worry- I'll be elaborating on this in the upcoming chapter! <strong>

**Let me know your thoughts and feelings on Solangelo or my story or what you want to see next by REVIEWING! (Please?)**

**Also, let me know on any grammatical errors you see throughout my story! Thanks for reading this!**


	11. Chapter 11

**To everybody: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! As always, thank you to everyone favoriting, following, and REVIEWING MY STORY! YAAAAY! Please accept the cookies handed out by Nico and Will.**

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><p>His first thought: <em>What just happened?<em>

His second thought: _You've got to be kidding me._

At first, he could only gape at Will, the handsome, confident son of Apollo, as he sauntered with his hands behind his head as if he had no care in the world. As if he hadn't just sent Nico's world spinning from orbit, chasing after his own path to get back in line before he could fully absorb the shock of Will's collision.

And then the words: "Yep, I thought so."

It was like a knife in the gut and Will was twisting it. Nico tried to avoid thinking about why Will had such a huge impact on him, but the reasoning was obvious. Nico was just stubbornly refusing to accept it. Instead, he had a score to settle.

"Will Solace!" he spat, marching after the son of Apollo the moment he was actually capable of moving. "You better explain yourself or I swear there are worse things than Tartarus!"

Will didn't stop walking, but he glanced back at Nico, his expression unreadable. "What do you need me to spell out for you?" he asked innocently. Nico's jaw clenched and he quickly stepped in front of Will, blocking his path.

"Everything," he hissed. "_That_."

It took all of his willpower not to blush at the thought of _that_.

To his surprise, Will's ears turned red and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I thought... I wasn't sure if you were-"

"Gay?" It sounded almost foreign on his tongue, but Nico knew with certainty that it was true, he just hadn't _directly_ said it to anyone yet. "Yeah, I am. And so suddenly that's okay? It's okay to-to... do _that_?" He motioned as he spoke, waving an arm at the scene of the crime. Will tilted his head to the side, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Nico. I wasn't thinking, but it never really occured to me that you'd be upset..."

The little butt-tard had the audacity to act innocent. A shadow fell across Nico's face and something churned inside of him- he didn't even know what it was- and the ground beneath his feet trembled.

"_Of course_ I'd be upset! Why did you do that, because it sure didn't sound like it was because of any interest in me!"

Yep, he was certain that he was blushing now, but he couldn't let his embarrassment overwhelm him. Will didn't deserve to get away with a move like that without Nico putting things in perspective.

Will's eyebrows rose. "Wha-?"

"'Yep, _I thought so_?'" Nico said, echoing Will's words. "What was that about?" He could feel his anger swelling, and it felt as if one prod at it could make it burst.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I-I didn't know.." Will's voice was hardly a whisper.

"Didn't know what, Will?" Nico's eyes narrowed to slits.

Will didn't get the chance to reply. He was interrupted by a shrill, "Well, if Nico isn't gonna do it, then I will!"

Drew strode up to Will and slapped him across the face, and the guy might as well have been two feet shorter than Drew rather than almost a foot taller.

"That's for Nico," she stated. "And that-" She slapped him again, splitting his cheek and leaving a thin gash of blood. "-is from me." With that, she tossed her hair and ambled away, swaying her hips dramatically. Will watched her walk off, raising a hand to his cheek.

"Hmph." He wrinkled his nose. Nico's glare was about to drill holes through his head.

"You were saying?"

"Blood," Will murmured when he pulled his hand away from the gash.

"Yeah, it's blood. Get over it."

Will made a face that said, _Seriously? _"Di Angelo, I deal with blood everyday. I'm perfectly capable of '_getting over it._'" He shook his head. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"

"You sound exactly like your dad."

"Well, at least my saying that is justifiable."

"No, it's not."

Will sighed.

"Now explain what that was all about, Solace."

Will looked down at his feet and bit his lip. His eyebrows furrowed as if he was in deep thought.

Nico had two burning questions: _What gave me away?_ He was ashamed that he even thought of it, as if he was trying conceal the fact that he was, indeed, gay. Then again, maybe he was. He shook the thought away.

The second question: _What are Will's feelings?_ The kiss had only left Nico more confused than ever, and Will's reaction only made everything harder to comprehend.

"I didn't know if I… if I liked you like _that,_" Will finally whispered. "Or if you were..." He didn't finish, yet he seemed to force himself to meet Nico's gaze, and his sparkling blue eyes locked onto Nico's gaze, not letting him look away.

The words slipped before Nico could catch them.

"But do you like me?"

"Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!" Apollo wailed. "Freeeee_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_eeeeed!"

Will whipped around and marched up to Apollo, covering the gods mouth, his eyes burning.

"Do that one more time, and I will not let you talk for a week. Got it?"

"Woah," somebody else said. "Go easy on the guy. He seems pretty upset."

Will stiffened. "Rachel," he said uncertainly. "Hey…"

The red-haired girl grinned. "How're you doin'?" she asked. "Long time, no see, Will." She glanced back at Nico. "Ditto."

"Hey," Nico greeted, his voice stiff. "What are you doing? Food's the other way."

"I couldn't just go without saying hi to my friends!" she said, jogging toward Nico and pulling into a hug. Nico sighed and she eventually released him, her smile broadening. "You've improved," she noted before turning to Will. "I've got two questions," she stated. "One, being who's the homeless guy, and two, which is whether or not it's safe to hug you because that guy's giving me a dirty look."

Apollo stuck his tongue out at her. Rachel returned the gesture.

Will smiled and walked up to Rachel, pulling her into a hug. "That would be Apollo," he said. "I'm surprised you don't recognize him."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "He looks and _smells_ different, to say the least."

Will laughed. "True."

Funny how easy it was for Will to act so nonchalant while Nico felt like his stomach was twisting.

"So, uh, how long were you standing there?" Will asked, managing to look somewhat uncomfortable. Rachel shrugged.

"Not long. I just passed by Drew on the way up here. She seems ticked off. So, Will, what'd you do?"

Will's jaw dropped. "What'd _I_ do? Why do you suddenly assume it was me?"

"Dunno. Maybe because she slapped you."

Will's face paled, and Nico felt his face grow red. How much had Rachel seen?

She smiled. "Besides, she did have a crush on you. You kissing Nico probably didn't help that."

Will could've been made out of wax for how still he was. His eyes grew stony and he stared past Rachel. "Oh. You did see that."

Her face became more concerned. "I figured my timing was bad," she said, tugging on the bottom of her shirt, "but things weren't looking so good between you two. Plus, I needed to talk to somebody I actually like from Camp Half-Blood." She raised her eyebrows. "So, are you two a thing, or what?"

Nico made a rude noise from the back of his throat, glaring at Will. Will gave Rachel a look that practically had the word Sorry spelled across it. "We may have to work things out," he said slowly. Rachel nodded.

"Well, let me know when everything's set in stone!" She winked and sped off, leaving Will, Nico, and Apollo to discuss their feelings.

Nico waited for Will to speak, but the son of Apollo remained silent for what felt like days.

"It wasn't fair to you," Will said eventually. "Not to you, and not to... Drew, I guess. I'm sorry. I... That was a bad decision and I was way out of line. Please, don't... don't hold a grudge. I'll try to make up for it. I'm sorry."

_Please, don't hold a grudge._ A grudge. The fatal flaw of Hades' children. Nico released a deep breath.

Did he have feelings for Will? Maybe, but Will couldn't know that. Not yet. But from now on, things would be far different between them. Nico wouldn't forget the kiss. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he actually enjoyed it. He never felt so wanted, _needed_, by someone before.

But Will's words still danced across his head. _I thought so._ What did that mean? Did he not know for sure if he liked Nico, or was he just seeing if Nico liked _him_?

Or was he even gay? Did he realize that -by kissing Nico- he wasn't?

"Fine," Nico grumbled. "No grudges. But I have some questions." He felt his face turn red again (he seriously needed that checked out- shouldn't he at least have some control over whether or not he looked like he swallowed ten peppers?), and Will nodded, running a hand through his golden hair.

"Yeah, I thought you might."

Nico crossed his arms. "Are you gay?"

To his surprise, Will blushed and glanced at his dad. Apollo didn't pay him any attention as he began following after Rachel. Rachel spotted him coming and waited for him to catch up, and when the pair was out of sight, Will turned back to Nico.

"Um... yeah. I am."

"You never came out?"

Will scoffed bitterly. "Try didn't know. Until now, at least."

"How could you not know? You're almost, what, seventeen or something?"

Will began pacing, seeming beyond flustered. "I've considered it for while, but I was just... I don't know." He looked back at Nico. "But then I realized that I liked you. More than I have felt towards anybody, really."

"You sound sappy."

Will laughed, but there was a tone of sadness mixed with it. "Yes, well, sorry that I'm sappy, di Angelo. You'll just have to get over it."

Nico shrugged, trying to appear unfazed by what Will had said, but the news made Nico's heart dance.

"And di Angelo-"

"I have a name." He looked up and saw Will's eyebrows raise. "It's Nico," he clarified.

Will grinned. "I prefer Death Boy."

"That's not for you to decide."

"Don't tempt me to call you Death Boy, Death Boy."

"Narcissus."

"Screw you."

Nico smiled before he could stop it, and Will seemed to brighten up.

"Well, I should probably apologize to Drew. I kind of upset her. Quite a bit actually."

Nico suppressed a sigh. "Yeah, no kidding. I'll catch up with you later."

Will's easygoing appearance faltered. "Where you heading?"

"Shrine to Pluto. Bye." He turned and marched up to shadows cast by a wall before he could see Will's expression.

"Nico, don't shadow-"

Nico slipped into the darkness.

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><p><strong> A lot of fluff and anger in this chapter, I know. <strong>**I hope you liked it! If you did, review and tell me why! If you hated it, I would LOVE for you to tell me why- it makes me better! Also, tell me of any errors you may have seen! Thanks, and happy holidays!**


	12. Chapter 12

**First off, I would like to apologize for how long it took me to publish this. I have been busy beyond belief and tried my best to squeeze in time to write. However, my writing isn't as good when I feel pressured to do so, so I had to take a few deep breaths before updating this. I'm so sorry for how long I made you guys wait!**

**Also, thank you to everybody who followed, favorited, and reviewed my story!**

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><p>"-travel."<p>

Nico disappeared. Will chewed his lip and nodded. "Yep, just... go on ahead. I'll just... talk to myself. I'll talk to myself." He sighed and glanced around. "I need to talk to Drew," he decided. He trekked back towards the lunch area with his hands in his pockets.

Apollo was speaking with a worry-looking Reyna, and Drew was pacing back and forth, ranting to Hazel.

_Oh, no._

Will considered turning tail and making a run for it, yet he slowly approached Drew. She froze, and whirled on him.

"What do you want?" she snarled. Will tried to ignore the waves of anger rolling off of Hazel.

"To apologize," he said, staring down at his feet.

"Mmm-hmm. You should apologize to both me_ and_ Hazel."

"Is it true?" Hazel demanded. "How badly did you upset Nico, Will Solace?"

Will sighed. "He's fine, Hazel. I already talked to him."

Hazel raised her chin and scrutinized him critically. "I'm going to talk to him later."

Will nodded and turned to Drew. She crossed her arms and glared daggers at him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her eyes flashing.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked around. Most people didn't cast him a second glance and just minded their own business.

"I'm sorry, Drew," he began. "I-I didn't know. I wasn't sure. Honest. I didn't want to jump to conclusions about anything and... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She turned up her nose. "Fine. But you owe me."

He blinked. "I _owe_ you?"

"That's right." She pursed her lips. "You owe me a favor because you were a shallow-"

"What favor?"

"I'll tell you when you need to know."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, fine. But for now, we have to..." He glanced at Hazel, who raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Drew and I need to talk in private, if that's okay."

"Yeah, fine. Where's Nico?"

Will swallowed. "He said he was going to the shrine to Pluto."

She nodded and marched off. Will watched her leave then turned to Drew. "We have to prepare for Python."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"One of us has to stay with Rachel and another with Apollo at all times."

"Sure. You get Apollo first." She turned and searched for Rachel. Will groaned inwardly and ambled up to Reyna and the sun god. Reyna nodded at him in greeting while Apollo spoke.

"-and I was all, 'You can't do that! Boom!' and they were all like, 'Show me mercy, all-powerful Fred! We worship you!'"

Reyna fixed her gaze on Will. "He's mad."

"Don't be rude."

"Fine. You're Camp Half-Blood's medic. Tell me exactly what happened."

"Uh, he was obviously cursed."

"Cursed?" the all-powerful Fred squealed.

"Indeed," Will replied. "That's why I need you to stick with me."

"So I can protect you?"

He swallowed his pride. "Yes, so you may protect me. Thanks, man."

Fred beamed at Reyna. "I told you I was all-powerful."

Reyna sighed. "You certainly did. Many times." She met Will's gaze. "I think we should move Rachel out of Camp Jupiter. We're still recovering and we certainly don't need anymore damage from Python."

Will nodded. "I understand. Apollo would need to go, too."

"Yes, please."

"You don't appreciate the mighty Fred's company?"

"Frankly, no, I don't."

Fred gasped. Will grinned. "So, about Rachel..."

"We should speak with her so she's aware of what's going on."

"Yeah, okay. Drew's with her now."

She gave him a sharp nod and marched away. Will trailed after her.

Rachel was sitting with her head in her hands, and Drew frowned when she noticed Reyna, Will, and Apollo approaching.

"Rachel," Reyna said, "we need to speak with you."

Rachel raised her head, her eyebrows creased. "About what?"

Reyna motioned for her to follow and turned away. Rachel slowly got to her feet and walked next to Will. He didn't meet her gaze.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked. Will shook his head, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Then, what's going on?"

"We'll tell you in a minute." He stared straight ahead, and he saw Rachel casting him a worried glance out of the corner of his eye.

"You're giving me the cold shoulder," she stated, and Will released a breath.

"No, I'm not."

She shrugged. "Okay, fine. But you look a lot more uptight than usual. Well, normally you don't seem uptight at all."

He huffed, and Drew snorted. "Stop it, Rachel," she said, her voice layered with sarcasm. "You're making him uncomfortable."

Reyna glanced back at them, then stopped. "Here's fine." She turned to Rachel. "We're going to need you to leave Camp Jupiter."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Uh, what?"

"It's Python," Will said.

"When Apollo was sane," Drew said, tossing her hair back, "he said that Python was coming for you."

"Why?"

"I don't know, hon."

"Oh, fantastic."

"Hey, it's not our fault he went crazy," Drew snapped. Rachel's eyes narrowed. Reyna cut off her reply.

"I know this is inconvenient, however it is in the best interest of Camp Jupiter. We're going to put you a safe distance away."

"We need to go with her," Will said. "Drew, Nico, and I. We have to bring Apollo with us, too."

"Yes. Would you like anyone from Camp Jupiter accompanying you?"

"No. It wouldn't be a good idea to throw a few more people in harm's way."

"I can assure you that everyone here could handle it."

"I know. But I know that we can, too."

Reyna raised her chin. "Very well. Make sure you bring Rachel back here safely and as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Will winced. "Sorry, I mean-"

"It's fine." Reyna faced Rachel. "Pack what you'll be needing."

"I've got a bag that you can put some spare stuff in," Drew said. Rachel nodded.

"Okay. Let's go." She and Drew marched off. Apollo watched them leave.

"Am I going somewhere?" he asked. Will nodded and wrapped an arm around him.

"Yep. We'll be going on a little trip," he said, about to steer his dad towards a nice meal. Reyna put a hand on his shoulder.

"Retrieve Nico. I need you to leave with Rachel as soon as possible. I don't want to take any risks."

"Of course." Will flashed a smile. "We'll be out of your hair in no time."

"Be careful. Keep an eye on Rachel."

"She can stand up for herself."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

He grinned. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her." He guided Apollo towards the food where Frank (seeming too cheerful about it) gladly took on "Fred." Will then asked for the way to the shrine to Pluto and headed in that direction.

"WIIIIILLLLLLLLLL!" a voice shouted, snatching Apollo's son by the shoulders. Will only sighed and rolled his eyes, then turned to see a disappointed Hazel. "Dang," she said. "I thought I'd gotten you."

Will snorted. "It takes more than shouting to scare-"

He was suddenly jerked back, and he yelped, practically leaping out of his shoes. Nico grinned slyly.

"You were saying?"

Will wrinkled his nose. "Not cool."

"Yeah, well, you deserve that times ten."

"I do. Anyway, we'll be leaving with Rachel as soon as we can. Reyna doesn't want to risk Python coming after Camp Jupiter."

Nico blinked. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

Nico shot him a dark look. "Yes, I'm feeling fine. Just... We're leaving? Soon?"

Will studied Nico for a moment. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale, yet that was normal. "Yeah," he replied, distracted. "Soon."

"Where to?" Hazel asked.

"Dunno. I think we'll leave that to Nico." He raised his eyebrows. "Unless you're not up for it."

"I'll be fine," Nico said defensively.

"You sure? There's five of us."

"I think I'll live. Besides, you heal people. It'll be just _dandy_."

Will nodded and glanced at Hazel. "Are we okay?" he asked, and she smiled.

"You hope so."

He swallowed. "Yep, I- Yep."

"Watch it."

"I will. Bye, Hazel."

"I mean it."

"I know you do." He turned to Nico, whose face was red as he glared at his half-sister and Will. He didn't say anything. "You ready?" Will asked. Nico slowly nodded. Hazel pulled him into a hug.

"Take care of yourself," she said. "Kill Solace if necessary, and visit me more often, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, sis."

She bit her lip and nodded, then abruptly turned and strode away. Nico watched her leave.

"Drew's helping Rachel pack, and Apollo's eating something. Do you need anything else while we're here?"

"No."

"Alright, then. Let's go get Apollo before he breaks someone. Then, we can find Drew and Rachel." He began walking away, but Nico's quiet voice stopped him.

"Wait."

He froze and slowly turned back towards Nico. Di Angelo had his hands shoved in his pockets and stared at his feet. "There's something that I want to talk to you about."

He tried to have Nico meet his gaze, yet Death Boy wouldn't look up. He sighed and wandered towards one of the buildings and sat on the ground in the shade. Nico sat down next to him, twisting his ring nervously.

"It's about... Octavian," he said. "I didn't ever talk to you about... about why I let him go."

He finally met Will's gaze, and Will remained silent. Sure, he had wondered about it, and he didn't understand why Nico had let Octavian shoot off into the sky and therefore kill himself, but he never really wanted to bring it up. Nico looked back at the Little Tiber. "I did it because... some people, you can't save."

"I didn't think that was for us to decide."

"No, it's not. And... it wasn't entirely my decision. It's just that... Some deaths cannot be prevented."

"That could have."

"No, Will, it couldn't." He turned back to Will and held his gaze this time, his jaw set in absolute certainty. "It couldn't have. I'm sure of that."

"How?" He began to feel like he was interrogating Nico, but apparently he had more uncertainty about Octavian than he wanted to let on.

"Will, he was _insane_. He was acting like a two-headed turkey on Thanksgiving."

"So? Just because he's crazy doesn't mean-"

"It couldn't be stopped. It _shouldn't_ have been stopped. You talked to him, Will. You know what he was like. What he did... it was awful."

Will's gaze flicked away. "You said it wasn't entirely your decision."

"I wasn't lying."

"You talked with your dad?"

"Yeah."

"And he said that about Octavian? That he couldn't be saved?"

"Not directly, but I'm pretty sure he implied it."

He nodded. "Okay, then."

"Are you mad at me?"

Will froze. "Di Ang- Nico, I'm not mad at you."

"You seemed like it."

"I saw a person become a giant, screaming grenade."

"Not a grenade, but whatever," Nico grumbled.

"Cut me some slack."

"I would say the same to you."

"Honestly, I kinda felt bad for calling him an anaemic loser."

"He deserved it."

"Yeah, he really did." Will stood up and stretched, then held a hand out to Nico, silently praying that he would take it.

He didn't. Instead, he kicked Will on shin. Will went down like a sack of potatoes while Nico stood up and glared down at him. Will groaned.

"Really?"

"You know you deserved it."

"I was offering you a hand!"

"I know. Do you need a hand?"

Will rolled over. "No."

"Good choice."

"What? Were you looking for dead Romans?"

"Maybe."

Will snorted, sending up a puff of dirt.

"Narcissus, get your nose out of the dirt."

Will rolled back over and held out a hand to Nico. Di Angelo rolled his eyes and took it, yanking Will to his feet with ease.

"C'mon," he grumbled. "Let's go get Apollo."

Will was playing the silent game with his dad by the time Rachel and Drew showed up. Apollo beamed at them and waved in greeting, and Will nodded his head at them. Rachel waved back.

"What's up?"

"The silent game," Nico replied, and Drew breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods. It's about time-"

"Shush." Nico turned back to Will and Apollo. "They can't afford any distractions."

Rachel nodded understandably. "Okay, but someone has to lose when we start heading out." She glanced at Nico. "You said bye to Hazel?"

"Yeah."

"Did she tell you to come here more often?"

"Yeah."

"Did she tell you to kill someone?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"Don't you adore me?"

"Absolutely."

"Aww. And if you were sarcastic, I'll cut you."

"Oh. Okay."

Will glared at Apollo who glared back at him.

"Fred," Drew said, "did you like the food?"

Apollo laughed. "You can't trick me so-"

"I win." Will winked. "Nico try, Fred."

Apollo blinked, then pouted. "That's not fair! She tricked me!"

"Maybe next time." Will shouldered his backpack. "Nico, you ready to move us?"

"Where to?"

"Anywhere but here without too many people and where you can make it without turning into a pile of goop."

"Alright, then." He held his hands out. Rachel grabbed one and extended the other to Apollo. He took it and grabbed Will's hand, giggling excitably. Drew held Nico's other hand and reluctantly took Will's extended one. She seemed to dig her nails into his skin, yet he bit back any sign of discomfort.

He winced, his last experience with shadow traveling hitting him like a brick. He was just about to ask for an easy trip when the ground was yanked from beneath his feet and the the sky curled towards him before hiding behind the shade of blackness.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked this! I'll try to update this as soon as I can! Review and let me know what you thought, and point out any grammatical mistakes I made, too! Don't be shy!<strong>


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